Whether you celebrate Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, or none of the above, the holiday season affects everyone. It can be a time of joy – maybe a break from work, an opportunity to see loved ones and a time to let go and have fun. But for many people, the stresses and pressures involved with the […]
Wedge has a copy of Jan Sutton’s ‘Healing the Hurt Within – 2nd Edition’ that he’s wanting to give to one of our members. We’ve decided the fairest way to choose who gets the book is by holding a draw. So, if anyone would like a chance of winning, please email Jules@firstsigns.org.uk . There’s no […]
(and how judgemental am I?) Earlier this month BBC2 aired a two-part Horizon special about mental illness called ‘How mad are you’. For those who didn’t see it, it focused on a group of 10 people, 5 of whom had a diagnosed mental illness and 5 who had never had any mental health problem. The […]
Harmless, a relatively new self harm organisation based in Nottingham, have sent us a link to the trailer they have produced for their DVD, and asked if we might share it with our members. The video lasts just under nine minutes and includes short discussions with four people who self harm (including older /male people), […]
Wedge is always encouraging me to write more personal blogs, and as you know we like to be inspiring and empowering here at FirstSigns, so I thought a little positive inspiration would be good. One of my friends stuck a little note on my computer this morning saying: “Thank you for loving me when I […]
First of all, we hope you’re all settling back into work, school, college and life after the summer. As predicted, the message board is becoming much busier now the holidays are over and it’s important we keep it fresh and up-to-date. We’ll therefore be deleting all unused accounts at the end of the month, so […]
A journalist working for an international press agency has requested a young, female volunteer to speak about her experiences of self-injury. The journalist would ideally would like to find a female participant. She would like to speak to a young person *and* her family about the support they have received to tackle self-injury. Alternatively she […]
On Monday, Wedge and I attended a school in Exeter after being invited to speak on the subject of self-injury. The school in question had recognised a need for more awareness on the subject for their staff and we were warmly welcomed by the school nurse who had organised the event, and all the teaching […]
Our Message Board, as always, offers a safe, friendly, supportive and inspiring community. We discuss our lives, our emotions and the distress that leads to our self-injury and self-harm, as well as discussing ways in which we can move away from self-injury and seek happier, healthier lives. We also have some fun! The summer months […]
The FirstSigns ‘Tell Someone Project’ runs every March and September, and today we launch our September 2008 Tell Someone Month. Wedge says: “We’re very excited to help people help themselves, and the ‘Tell Someone’ project may well help you break through your fears and actually tell someone about your self-injury, and the emotional reasons behind […]
Is it next week that everyone starts returning to school / college/ uni? It’s been a good few years since I left school so I lose track, but I’m still drawn to all the lovely stationery around in the shops at this time in readiness for the new academic year! For me, going back to […]
Last Saturday Wedge and I were in London for our second summer meet-up, and as with Birmingham earlier in the year it was fantastic to meet some of you in real life and enjoy a drink and a chat. We understand only too well how daunting travel and meeting new people can be, and we’d […]
