• Question: what would you do if you saw someone cutting themselves?

    Asked by Ella to Psychiatry Ward Team, Early Intervention Team on 24 Jan 2019.
    • Photo: Sheffield Psychiatry Ward Team

      Sheffield Psychiatry Ward Team answered on 24 Jan 2019:

      Hi Ella, Emma here 🙂

      People cut themselves for lots of reasons – sometimes it can be because they are under a lot of emotional stress, or because they want to distract themselves from their feelings.

      When someone comes into hospital it can be because they have hurt themselves already or because they are having thoughts of seriously hurting themselves. We assess everyone and if they need extra support we can increase the level of observations they are on. This means that nursing staff will check in on them more often to check whether they are doing okay, and with time this can decrease in frequency as people feel better. We would also look at coping strategies they could use, or distraction techniques.

      If someone cut themselves on the ward we would first check them over physically – this might include putting stitches in or even sending someone to hospital if needed. We would then assess their mental state and talk about why they cut themselves, to see if we can support them.

      In the long term often psychological therapy (talking therapies) can be useful in helping people find other ways of managing their emotions. One thing I like to recommend to people is having a ‘self-soothe box’. In a box, people would put something they like to do with each sense. In mine I would have chocolate to taste, a nice smelling hand cream to smell, a book to read or my favourite film to watch, or my favourite album to listen to. I’d put a nice pair of new pyjamas in there! This means that rather than cutting to feel relief people can reach for their box and find something else that might work.

Comments

  • Photo: Neel - Psychiatrist

    Neel - Psychiatrist commented on :

    Hi Ella, in the same way as there is physical health first aid, I think we need mental health first aid too. This would mean if any members of the public saw someone cutting themselves they may be able to help of direct the person to somewhere where he or she can get help. I think in the first instance it is important not to judge someone . If the person cutting is someone you know and trust well, you can ask if they want to talk about it. If they do, just listen patiently. Ask if they want help or to talk to a healthcare professional who will be trained to deal with this. A GP or someone working in a mental health team will be able to help or direct to somewhere more appropriate.

  • Photo: Home Treatment Team

    Home Treatment Team commented on :

    Hi Ella, I’m a psychologist and I work specifically with people who harm themselves in different ways, which can include cutting. people harm themselves for many different reasons; some people may harm themselves as they are trying to cope with very intense and distressing thoughts and feelings. Others may do so in order to actually feel something physical or to feel alive. For others, it may be a way of trying to communicate to others how they are feeling. There is lots of help available to people who hurt themselves, and I think the most important thing is to try and be very understanding and open towards the person who is hurting themselves, as often people may feel judged or misunderstood. you could ask them if they want to talk about anything, and you could encourage them to attend A&E or to go and see their GP. They may benefit from talking to a psychologist or a counsellor, as perhaps they are having some difficulties that are making them feel very distressed. Witnessing someone hurting themselves can also be very upsetting for the person who sees this, so it would also be important for them to see support for this.