Celebrities and Self-Harm

The star of N Dubz, Tulisa has revealed that in her teenage years she turned to self-harm.

Tulisa on stage

In the BBC 3 documentary following the current success of the band, Tulisa shared the struggles that she coped with in her teenage years.  She was a carer for her mother who was dealing with a mental illness.

Page from Tulisa's diary

She expresses how she desperately wanted to help but felt helpless.  As a thirteen year old she struggled to cope and used self-harm to minimise the feelings of stress.

Tulisa shared some pages of the diary she kept as a teenager.  One shows the smeared blood that she wiped onto the page after injury.  It says "This is my blood.  This is what life has done to me."

Tulisa is not the first celebrity to admit to using self-harm as a coping strategy.  Actress, Angelina Jolie has told interviewers that she self-injured because she was "trying to feel something".  She went on to say that "you get this romantic thing about blood and I really hurt myself."

Angelina Jolie

These celebrities show that those that we aspire to and look up to, are equally as human as ourselves.  It also makes it very clear that self-harm is not an act undertaken by those with mental illness in all cases.  There is no stereotype or group that self-harm is restricted to.  Anybody coping with a situation that is causing emotional pressure could rely on self-harm as a way of dealing with the problem.

Self Harm and Suicide

The media has made it clear that in the case of Derrick Bird, self harm was no longer functioning properly as a coping mechanism.  His history of self harm was visible on his arms which were scarred with marks of his cutting.  He had reached a mental stage where he was no longer able to cope.  His coping strategy was no longer working for him effectively.  Bird had taken a big leap from having difficulties coping to being unable to cope.  The Express wrote on his attempt to commit suicide prior to his multiple murders and suicide.  This was prevented by friends.  

The question to be asked is when does the act of self harm become an attempt to commit suicide?  And how strongly are these two linked?  Is suicide a risk taken when self harming or is it the desired outcome?

The easiest answer would be to say that it is different for each scenario, which it undoubtedly is.  However, this question is one that should be approached, especially by organisations such as the NHS, who work to keep the nation healthy.  A one size fits all action will not work in such a complex scenario.   

If self harm was seen as an attempt to commit suicide in every scenario, this could cause further problems.  For many the act of self harm is used to cope with situations that are otherwise too difficult to comprehend.  

However, the case of Derrick Bird has brought to everyone's attention, the possible problems which can result from the provision of support being lacking.  Claims were documented in The Express that Bird visited West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.  He was told that he needed to see his GP "for that kind of thing."  It seems that the NHS is not able, or ineffectively organised to deal with health issues that stem from the psychological.

In late Summer, Step Up! International will be publishing findings on the way self harm is dealt with in the NHS in the Birmingham area.

If nothing else the case of Derrick Bird demonstrates the need for an organisation like Step Up! International, a specialised company, equipped to deal with the issue of self harm from a psychological perspective.

Alcohol and Self-Harm

The common assumption of self-harm is that it only manifests itself in the cutting of wrists, arms and legs.  There are however many behaviours that are viewed as self-harm.  The Mental Health Foundation give 7 behaviours that should be acknowledged as self-harm:

1. cutting
2. burning
3. scalding
4. banging or scratching one's own body
5. breaking bones
6. hair pulling
7. ingesting toxic substances or objects

Alcohol is one of the mentioned toxic substances which should be paid careful attention to.  There is currently debate over applying a minimum price to alcohol, the story has been documented on the BBC Health pages.  This is argued as an attempt to reduce excessive consumption of alcohol.  

So what does this mean to self harmers?

Not all binge drinking happens with the same intent.  However, it may be seen as a distraction or escapism from reality.  It can therefore be used as a method of self-harm if the intent is to inflict harm.  The minimum price strategy, recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), may be "too simplistic" in its suggestion that "the UK's alcohol problems are down to price",  as noted by Andrew Opie, food policy director at the British Railway Consortium.  It is highly likely that this is the case for people using alcohol as a means of escaping troubles which the individual cannot cope with.

The current issues with alcohol highlights that when dealing with self-harm there must be an awareness of all aspects of a person's behaviour.  Alcohol usage may be a factor that is overlooked, yet something that needs to be dealt with in a way that can help the individual.

For further information on the relationship between alcohol and self-harm visit NHS Health Quality   for a study of the issue.

Websites Promoting Self Harm Are Making My Job Harder!

Websites Promoting Self Harm Are Making My Job Harder!

Websites promoting self harm are making my job harder! There are young people out there who are genuinely using the internet to get help for their self harming behaviour and more than likely would not have told friends or family members about it or sought medical help because of the stigma and lack of awareness and understanding still attached to self harming. The internet is one of the few options available to them for support, though some have self harm awareness bracelets.

Sadly the websites promoting self harm are masking the seriousness behind self harming and the underlying emotional pain that people self harming endure. These websites only serve to perpetuate the myths surrounding self harm, one of which is that self harm is just attention seeking. There is more to cutting and self harm. Self harm is generally a very private act, and hence we will never know the extent of young people and adults struggling by themselves with self harming behaviour and ultimately the emotional or psychological challenges that are pushing them to resort to such measures.

My job is hard enough already to get professionals and practitioners that I work with to look beyond the myths of self harm. These websites are simply making my job even harder and I would also welcome their removal from the internet.

That said, given that the 2007 Unicef report highlighted Britain as one of the bottom five countries in Europe where children’s well-being are concerned, Britain will need to do a lot more than just remove websites from promoting self harming! Self harming is just a symptom of what people from all walks of life, and not just young people, are experiencing. The fact that there is an increase amongst young people, for me, is a reflection of the lack of importance that the UK has attached to children and young people’s health and well-being. These are the very people that Britain is depending on for its future existence!

It is no coincidence that we have also seen an increase in requests for self harm training from all sectors of the community. People self harming don’t want to be seen as a nuisance to society, so it is important that professionals working with them have self harm awareness training and understanding of what drives them to self harm. They are not just programs for troubled teens self harm.

We also know that the numbers of people attending A&E is not a true picture of the extent of people self harming in the UK.



With Inspirational Blessings
Jennifer McLeod

Creator Of Easy Tiger Parents System™
Creator of Born To Win! Programme For Young People™
Tel: +44 (0)121 551 1668
www.jennifermcleod.co.uk