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Emergencies

 

If you have harmed yourself to the extent of needing medical attention, take your self to the nearest A&E department. Tell staff what you have done. They should be understanding. If they are not that is their problem not yours. Remember you are there to get help and it is part of their job to respect you whatever your problem is.

If you have taken an overdose ring 999 (UK), or the emergency number for your country, for an ambulance immediately. Do not leave it for  a while as you may collapse or become very ill in other ways. The hospital will be used to people having taken overdoses and will know how to deal with it properly. Try to keep calm and if you are feeling very unwell contact a neighbour or keep you door open/unlocked.

If you are feeling suicidal, please contact someone, whether it is a friend, family member, support worker, doctor or anyone else you can trust. You could contact your local psychiatric emergency team who are probably based at your nearest psychiatric hospital. Hopefully they will arrange for you to be seen as soon as possible. You could also contact your nearest accident and emergency department. They should be able to help.

Also the Samaritans are a well established organization. The staff are more than willing to help as much as they can, even if it is just to listen to what you have to say. UK Samaritans telephone number is 08457 90 90 90. You could visit their website where you can email them. But please be aware it may take a while for a reply.

Emergencies are scary situations. But you will get through it. Everything changes.

 

How can I help prevent myself from harming myself?

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Talk to someone, someone you can trust and feel safe talking to about how you feel

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Distraction - watch some TV, surf the net, read, listen to music

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Avoid keeping sharp objects in the house if possible

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Why do you want to self harm? Can be helpful to understand what's going on inside your head, and could prevent you from harming yourself.

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See how other people manage the urge to self harm, results collected from the questionnaire

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Have a look at the self help page.