Starfish Sisters
Page 23
For more information on self-harming behaviour and other topics, or to find help and support to get through your own tough times, check out www.reachout.com.au.
Worried about a friend who is self-harming
What is self-harm?
Self-harm is when people deliberately hurt themselves. It is not necessarily a suicide attempt and may not mean the person wants to die. Self-harm includes deliberately cutting, burning, biting and hitting your body. The reasons why a person self-harms can differ, but they may be doing so to alter their mood when they are depressed or angry, because they are frustrated or do not know what else to do.
When do I tell someone else?
If you are concerned about your friend's safety it is important to let someone like a counsellor, teacher or youth worker know what is going on. These people should be able to help you make sure your friend stays safe.
If possible, it is a good idea to be honest with your friend, letting them know that you will have to let someone know if they tell you that they are harming themselves. If your friend chooses not to tell you things on that basis then that is their call. This way you are not being put in a situation where you feel like you are breaking their trust or risking them harm.
How can you help?
Supporting a friend who is self-harming may be hard. Often the reasons why someone self-harms are complex and managing these reasons needs help from someone like a psychologist, psychiatrist or a counsellor. You may want to check out the Finding Help section of www.reachout.com.au for more information about how these people can help. The Help Near You database or your local phone book should have details of these services in your local area.
Kids Help Line 1800 55 1800 (free call) or Lifeline 131 114 (cost of a local call) have counsellors who are around 24 hours.
Sometimes we can get so concerned about our friend that we may not look after ourselves. It is important that you keep yourself safe. It may be helpful for you to talk to someone you trust about what is going on and how you feel.
What to do in an emergency
If someone has harmed themselves intentionally, it is important to get medical help. If the person is hurt badly call an ambulance (dial 000, if you live in Australia) straight away.
THE STORY OF TOM
BRENNAN
Read on for an extract from
J.C. Burke's award-winning novel
PROLOGUE
At 4.30 am on Friday the 23rd of January, my father, Joseph Brennan, closed the front door of our home for the last time. Then gently, as we now had to be, he led my mother step by step to the car and helped her into the back seat. My sister Kylie and I followed, carrying the left-over bags and suitcases. No one spoke. Only the sounds of our feet shuffling along the concrete and my groan as I dumped the last of our belongings into the boot broke the near-dawn's silence.
I waited by the bonnet for Dad to slip the handbrake off and give me the signal. I pushed our Ford Falcon station wagon out of the garage, past the ugly words that told us we were no longer wanted, and along the street.
When we reached the crest of 'Daniel's Whine' – named after my brother, who hated climbing hills – I jumped in the front seat and Dad lifted his foot off the brake. Down, down we glided in silence.
The silhouettes of houses slipped past before I could catch them and remember the people we were leaving behind. In a couple of hours they would wake and find us gone, far away, so as not to remind them of their pain and what our family now meant to this town.
My name is Tom Brennan and this is my story.
Available now at all good retailers
Faking Sweet
J.C. Burke
'I marched through the gates of St Clementine's forty percent excited, sixty percent terrified. At least here, at my sixteenth school, I finally had a purpose. A mission to accomplish. And more than that, I had been hand-picked for the job.'
Holly might be new, but she already knows who to watch out for: Jess Flynn, the most popular girl in Year 9. Holly's best friend back in Melbourne, Calypso, says Jess is a liar, a shoplifter and a boyfriend-stealer. Calypso wants revenge for her ex-friend's betrayal, and Holly's only too happy to oblige.
But it's not proving easy to follow Calypso's plan and catch Jess out. And then there's the fact that as Holly gets to know her, Jess isn't fitting the terrible picture Calypso has painted of her.
The question is, who's betraying who?
Available now at all good retailers
The Red Cardigan
J.C. Burke
Evie sees things that other people don't. She's wary of the other kids at school, of what they might see in her drawings, or of what they would say if they knew she was different. Most of the time she blocks it all out and pretends she's just like everyone else.
But a missing girl is trying to tell Evie something. A girl who is very persistent, who will not give up until she is found. A girl who once wore the red cardigan Evie now wears. And Evie can no longer ignore the question that needs an answer . . .
Who is the girl in the red cardigan?
Available now at all good retailers