SI grabs media attention – and LifeSIGNS is at the forefront!!!!

Today was the day – a morning crammed with TV and national radio interviews and being driven to and fro various trucks and studios!

Its amazing how one report can trigger off so much media attention – not a complaint of course! But it seems that suddenly, SI is on the agenda again.

First stop today was Eccleshill Community Hospital in North Bradford, where I was to meet Dr. Gillian Proctor again, the founder of the self-harm clinic, for a series of interviews with BBC Asian Network and News 24.
I arrived at the small, secluded hospital to be greeted by a white van with a satellite dish stuck to the top of it. So I cautiously wander over and knock on the door to find an engineer crammed inside twiddling what looked like a complicated set of technical equipment! I introduce myself and as he sets me up for my first interview for BBC Asian Network, Gillian is on the TV screen doing a live interview for the morning news. Its brilliant how this scheme and SI in general is attracting so much publicity.

After a few technical hitches, I’m linked up with the Asian Network studio. Following a very brief brief I’m introduced live on air and that’s my cue! Its was just the usual questions really, about why I started to SI, how it helps, how I got over it etc. That was all fine, and the presenter did a great plug for LifeSIGNS and we were praised for the work that we do by another guest, who was a psychologist. And then came the phone calls. The first one was a typical unsympathetic person accusing people who self harm as being attention seekers and wasting NHS time and money. I did my best to explain (in a civil manner!) that SI is not done just attention-seeking, but is instead a cry for help, a method of self-expression and above all, a coping mechanism which for individuals who SI, is often their only way of relief and control over situations in which they feel overwhelmed in. Luckily, the presenter and other guests also informed the caller of the deeper issues that drive a person to SI. All agreed that in general, the caller represented the severe lack of understanding and acceptance of SI in. It was comforting to hear that the other guests agreed that the Government and healthcare organisations should be working with groups and charities such as LifeSIGNS to increases awareness and resources across the country.

The phone-in was interesting as it touched upon the cultural specific factors that could lead to SI, especially for South Asian women who have enormous cultural pressures such as gender role expectations, family pressures and marital arrangements. This is something that LifeSIGNS is endeavouring to work towards, that of ensuring equality and diversity in all our services.

After two phone-calls I have to hastily leave the show in the middle of it being underway to be interviewed with Gillian for BBC News 24. As the cameras were being set up, the presenter slipped in that this was a live broadcast! It was very brief, a few words from Gillian about the scheme and then afew words from myself about my SI experiences and treatment in A&E. So there was no time for a LifeSIGNS plug I’m afraid. Immediately after that, I’m taken to another part of the hospital where we were filming to have a recorded interview. Same kind of questions really but it focussed on why I thought a special SI clinic was needed. My personal view is that it is a fantastic scheme – SI is real, genuine and exists. Professionals need to respect that for some, it is a control mechanism and so an individual should not be forced to stop.

When this ended, I jumped into the cab that was waiting for me and was driven to BBC Radio Leeds where I was to do my last live interview for Radio Five Live on the Victoria Derbyshire show. It was great to be able to talk about SI and about the issues surrounding it and to know that it was going out nationally to a large audience. Our web address was given out and I plugged our factsheets and training packages as brilliant and effective ways of raising awareness and giving support and advice. My main message in this interview was that for SI to be understood and to have better services available, there needs to be widespread awareness about it from the whole of society.

At one point a couple of decades ago, bullying in schools was denied and ignored but now it is accepted, even expected and now each school has an anti-bullying policy in place. In the same light, SI exists and if statistics are to be taken at face value, then it goes on in every single school, workplace, college and uni throughout the country. We need to make everyone aware of this and to face up to the fact that it is a serious and genuine issue that needs to be addressed.

And so ended my whirlwind tour of some BBC national radio stations. It was fantastic to be able to talk so openly about my experiences of SI in the hope that it will help shed some light on the issue. The prominence of the media coverage today will hopefully get more people thinking deeper about SI and make them aware of how fantastic the work of LifeSIGNS is!