*Please note that we encountered some audio related issues in this episode. Self-harm is when somebody intentionally damages their body. We usually do it because something else in your life feels wrong. It may seem like self-harm is the only way to let those feelings out as an outlet for the pain you feel inside. There are various reasons we do this, from escaping memories to punishing ourselves based on past experiences. This short-term release can often bring up incredibly difficult emotions and can make you feel worse because of inflicting damage upon yourself. A study from Young Minds found that 24% of boys age 16 - 24 in the UK self-harm. Shockingly hat is 1 in 4 young males that inflict damage upon themselves in various ways. Warning: it can be upsetting and potentially triggering to read information about how people self-harm. Please proceed with caution upon reading the text below if you are particularly vulnerable at the moment: Cutting, poisoning, over/under eating, burning, hitting yourself or objects, drug/alcohol misuse, pulling hair, unsafe sex and fighting. Knowing how people self-harm is one of the first steps we can take to find comfort in opening up. You are not alone. In this episode we invite Ben Hodgkins on to the podcast to talk about self-harm and how it has affected his life. This is an incredibly heart wrenching topic that so many of us can relate to. We'd like to take a moment to thank Ben for opening up his experience of self-harm as this wasn't exactly an easy topic to discuss. This will hopefully open the door for people alike to share their story. Together we can really get under the skin of the causes of self-harm and what we can do to stop it. We really hope you enjoy this episode. Feedback is always welcome.

Hosts: Sam Mitchell & Nafees Akhtar

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