Music can help manage your whacked-out brain but have that playlist ready before the inevitable happens. — I have worked from home for years and I’m easily overwhelmed by too much social interaction. But it turns out that even a minimal social calendar of meeting up with friends, whether to talk, dance, listen to music, or study, anchors my mind and energises it. Changes in routine, whether…

Research shows self-injury is usually a private and secret act. It is not a clear indicator of any particular disorder or mental illness, although it can be linked to a number of them. — I am conscious as I write this that depictions of self-injury can trigger some people. If you think you may be triggered or distressed by a written depiction, stop reading now. Talk to someone you trust. See your doctor. Do not accept facile “one size fits all” explanations. Do not…

Self-injury affects people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and social classes. This is just one woman’s story. If you find my story triggering, please talk to someone you trust. — I last hit myself two weeks ago. During a tiff with my partner about dinner (or dinner’s absence) I rained blows on my thighs and then my head. He tried to hold me, saying, ‘No, no, no, no. Please don’t do this.’ …

At fourteen I wanted to run away to another country and change my name, so my mother would never find me. I also wanted to die. Living with a mother who terrifies you will do this to adolescent dreams. Decades later, dying will probably take care of itself and I’m…