"I cried and cried and at one point couldn’t even look myself in the mirror, I began to cope with this in the worst ways."

Monica

"At first self-harm was a way of coping. Like that was the one thing I could control. But after a while, it controlled me."

Mia

"I hurt myself to stop the monster. I hurt myself because I am nothing...I addicted to my pain."

Len

"I have scars and cuts to tell a story."

Rachel

"If you're thinking of cutting yourself, please don't. You will regret it forever, and the scars will never go away."

Kathleen

"The whole point of cutting was to actually try and be aware of something again because it often seemed like I didn't actually feel anything."

Liz

"When I look at my scars, I see flashbacks. I see memories that I wish I could forget."

Parker

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"Sometimes i look at my scars and see them more like battle scars that i feel proud of. And other times i feel ashaimed of them coz of the people i've hurt when i've harmed myself."

Patch

"I have self harmed now for a few years now and its beccause i am bulllied, its an escape."

Sam

"I tried to cover the scars up with make-up beforehand, but it didn't work. Mum saw them and was really horrified."

Hayle

"I was being abused and I felt trapped and helpless. I felt I deserved to be punished, but it also gave me something I could control."

Michelle

"I was being abused and I felt trapped and helpless. I felt I deserved to be punished, but it also gave me something I could control."

Michelle

"The tension from the continual family arguments was unbearable. I felt I was going to explode until I cut myself and experienced feelings of relief."

Ranjit

"My parents and teachers expected much more of me than I felt I could deliver, and the only release from the pressure was to burn myself."

Ryan

"I felt like I wasn't really part of the real world because I'd tried to cut myself off from my troubles. Watching myself bleeding and feeling the pain made me feel like I was real and alive."

Luisa

"I feel it is because I can't handle my emotions very well. When I get really sad or really mad I feel the need to hurt myself to make me feel better."

Ben

"I do it for different reasons, depending on what state of mind I am in. I will do it sometimes as a way to get relief from the pain I am feeling inside. Other times I do because at the time I feel I deserve to be punished. And other times I do it to "shou"

Linda

"I also think that I deserve to hurt because I'm such a horrible person. I don't know why I feel like this, but I do."

Karen

"I never want to make someone feel the way people make me feel, so I don't say anything. I keep everything to myself and then it builds up. I explode and then start cutting."

Susan

"I injure myself to try and calm down; to try and escape the painful memories of my abuse; to try and take control of my emotions; to try and feel safe; to stop the nightmares and daymares; to try and feel."

Amanda

"I usually injure myself in an effort to get my mind off of terminating my life. In short, injuring myself is the only way I stay alive."

Sarah

"I thought if I had bruises on me, someone would realize that things weren’t all right at home, and would make it stop, somehow."

Alan

"I am so embarrassed about the scars on my forearms. I can't wear t-shirts now without having to face the fact that I DID THAT to my arms."

Anonymous

"I've been really lucky in that everyone I've told has pretty much been OK with it, I've had counselling for a while, and my friends are supportive."

Dorothy

"I hit myself because I’m so angry with myself – for being so stupid and pathetic, for being the sort of person bad things happen to."

Rick

"I just realized now that I will probably lose friends and important people because of this. They'll think I'm psycho and be scared of me."

Carol

"To stop myself, I try to read some supportive letters from my friends."

Alice

"It’s like a control thing. How deep, how often, where I cut – it’s all down to me. It’s my body and I’ll decide what to do with it."

Jeremy

"A lot of stuff had been going on since I was 14 or 15. I had been stressed over a variety of things and it had all been building up"

Bethany

"Anything I could get my hands on. It was about control for me and about feeling something else apart from the hell I was feeling. I was not trying to kill myself."

Bethany

"If someone is self-harming they are doing it in secret and are feeling emotional distress and that needs to be addressed"

Dr Singh

"It's incredibly sad that so many young people are using self-harm as a way to deal with their issues and that many are suffering in silence."

Tulisa, N-Dubz

"I have flashbacks and nightmares that I can't control at all"

John Mantooth

"Self-harm is often a coping strategy used by people to deal with very difficult feelings, as a way of communicating when things cannot put into words or even thoughts"

Dr Toby Moran

"I didn’t want to admit it. It was easier to lie. Hide the hurt and emptiness to smile instead of cry. But I know, that is not the way."

Indira

"Holding back your feelings may save you from others, but it will never save you from yourself."

Anonymous

"Suicide does not end the chances of life getting worse, suicide eliminates the possibility of it ever getting better."

Anonymous

"Sit's about trying to create a senseof other out of chaos. It's a visual manifestation of extreme distress."

Maggy Ross

"The greatest asset we have for change is our voices and our ears."

Mike

"My doctor actually spoke to me, rather than talking down to me. He spoke to me like a person, instead of just a silly little girl, who cuts up and all this."

Nathaly

"Doesn’t treat me like a normal, as if I’m not normal because I self-harm, like there’s something wrong with my intelligence or something. Like a retard, I suppose. Because I self-harm, then obviously I’m thick."

Alex

"I need people to work with me ... you know a partnership ... if my rights and everything’s taken away then I’m panic and I’m more likely to injure myself."

Dario

"I no longer self harm. There is hope. Don't give up."

Tony