One of the main problems I had when I finally faced upto my self harm was not knowing anyone else who coped in this way. I felt like I was the only one and felt isolated for being "different"
After months of searching for support, I found a support group that ran at the Zion Centre in Hulme, Manchester. It was only a small group, but attending it and meeting people who had similar issues to me, changed my life. I no longer felt like I was strange or different and soon realised that self harm was far more common than I thought, yet very little help was available.
Some time later, I was asked to help with the group. Not only did this make me proud to be helping others but it helped me in my own recovery.
Two years later, Steve and I took over the group, changing the name to SHARE, Self Harm Awareness & Recovery for Everyone. Beth then came onboard too and we have successfully been running for another three years to date.
The group offers a safe place for people to meet and support each other, whether they are still currently self harming or are in recovery.
The facilitators of the group will not expect you to stop self harming unless it is your own decision. It is not our place to tell members what to do but should someone want to stop, we will offer as much guidance as we can. Every member of the group is treated equally and everyone is classed as equally important. Noone will ever be judged on any aspect of their lives.
Should a member require help with any other health issue, not covered by our group, we will always do our best to signpost them to other places of support.
My next post will advertise the group in more detail, giving ways to contact us etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment