I was sexually abused at the age of 11 by a family member which led to years of self harm.

At 11 I didn’t really know what was happening, all of a sudden my life had been turned upside down, I found when I first started injuring myself it released all the pain I felt inside me but for me most importantly it got rid of the dirt I felt was inside of me.

I self harm in a way that nobody would be able to tell, it isn’t visible to the eye.  I insert sharp objects inside my vagina and cut my breasts.  At 15 I developed an eating disorder and abused laxatives, it was just another way of hurting my body but this time it was visible.  In my case everything was about control, my life was out of control, so self harm gave me control.

I heard about a place called LifeLink where people would work with you on a one to one basis in helping you reduce your self harm.  The work could be intensive sometimes but I was never made to feel judged.  I am a great believer in the fact that if you want to get better you have to put the work in which can be hard, but I personally have benefited from that approach.

I have managed to stop self harming now and am beginning to connect with my body which I have never been able to do before.  I feel more comfortable with my body which I feel has boosted my confidence and self esteem.  It has not been easy but I am getting somewhere with my life now.

The ways of coping change depending on the situations.  I find having a bath with plenty of bubble bath so that I was not laying there looking down on my body works, I would go for a walk or burn some lavender oil in an oil burner that I use to relax and most importantly I found phoning someone you can trust and feel comfortable with helped me a lot.