Today marks Self Injury wareness Day, and St Patrick’s Mental Health Services are promoting the facts about self-harm to the public.
Around one in 10 (400,000) Irish people experiences depression at any one time, with anxiety and depression being common illnesses in teenagers, adults and the elderly- as well as some children.
The ratio of male deaths by suicide in Ireland is approximately 3:1. Today, the public are encouraged to be aware of mental illnesses and the reality of self harm, and realise the facts around the issues.
Counselling Psychologist with St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Dr Maria Leahy, says there are a lot of unhelpful stereotypes associated with self-harm.
Dr Leahy said: “One of the things we really try to debunk is this idea that it is attention-seeking.
“I mean sure there can be different functions for why people self-harm, but the underlying theme of that is that it is ultimately distress.
“So really that is the key theme I would focus on is that this person is clearly really distressed, let’s get to the core of what the meaning is for that person.”
The complexities behind why people feel as down as they do and self-harm because of their emotions is something that cannot be attributed to each individual that suffers. Mental illness affects each person differently, it’s time that we brought more to the table than the hashtags and the sharing of inspirational quotes.
Education, empathy and awareness are key when dealing with mental illness. Debunk the myths and familiarise with the facts.