Self-harm: St. John's teen taking awareness message to youth

Grade 8 student Hannah Noseworthy wants everyone to know that March 1 has a special significance. It's Self-Harm Awareness Day, also known as Self-Injury Awareness Day. 

​Noseworthy, who says she knows how much pressure kids are under today, knows first-hand that many of them resort to hurting themselves to find relief.

"I know a lot of people who do it. It's important to look beyond the injury and look at what's really going on," Noseworthy told CBC Radio's On The Go. 

She's 14 now, but Noseworthy was just 12 when she started to cut herself because of anxiety. She said the transition from elementary school to junior high pushed her stress level to a new high.

"I had to make all new friends and find different cliques and I had to talk to people I didn't know," she told me in an interview. 

"That's something that I don't really feel comfortable doing and I was just pushed out of my comfort zone. I needed a way to release that pain I had on the inside."

Noseworthy said she used things like sharpener blades and scissors to cut into her arms, legs and stomach.  

"Anytime I was alone and I felt that pain on the inside, I would find something and do it and eventually you become immune to the scratches and little cuts that you're giving yourself so you go bigger and deeper and that causes more harm to yourself."

'A lot of kids are talking about it'

It's a troubling behaviour Angie Wilmott hears about all too often. Wilmott, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador School Counsellors and Psychologists' Association, said she and her peers are seeing an increase in self harm among students across the province. 

"I think a lot of kids are talking about it, maybe online," Wilmott said.

"Social media is huge with kids today and it's kind of spread like wildfire." 

Wilmott says she's particularly concerned about this activity because it can be highly addictive. 

"It becomes kind of an obsessive compulsive tendency and they keep cutting and cut deeper and then you have the risk of cutting main arteries and have serious bleeds that could take a life."

Hannah Noseworthy got help before her self harm behaviour escalated. She told her parents and her family was able to see a psychologist and counsellor at the Janeway children's hospital in St. John's. 

She has been doing well and hasn't hurt herself in more than a month. 

"That's actually really good for me because you know what, I'm out of that and I can use my stories and everything to help other people," she said. 

Problem involves more than cutting

Noseworthy is a member of the Waterford Valley Leo Club, a youth group in St. John's. She's hoping a project that she and some friends are working on will create awareness about the issue.

You could make yourself throw up, stop eating, punch walls. There are lots of different ways that people self harm- Hannah Noseworthy

"We're going to order some bracelets online. They're just plain orange with black writing that say 'Self Harm Awareness,' and we're going to hand them out between our schools," said Noseworthy, adding the group is also working on getting speakers to talk to classes of students about the issue. 

Noseworthy says many people assume self harm is just about people who cut themselves. In fact, Noseworthy says, self harm can include a lot more destructive behaviour.

"You could make yourself throw up, stop eating, punch walls. There are lots of different ways that people self harm."

Noseworthy says she encourages any young person engaging in self harm to tell someone they trust. If they can't do that, Noseworthy recommends a mental wellness app developed by Eastern Health that's called Bridge the gAPP. It offers a completely anonymous service. 

"They have all the numbers you can call if you need help with anything and it's really an amazing app for young teens."

Noseworthy says the most important thing for kids to know is that they're not alone in their struggle.

"I just want them to know that there are a thousand different ways to get help," she said.