FirstSigns <firstsigns>
"The first ​place to ​turn to w​hen signs​ of self-harm appea​r"


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FirstSigns is an online, user-led voluntary organisation, that raises awareness and provides information and support to people of all ages affected by self-harm or self-injury.

We recognise self-injury is a way of coping with distressing experiences and difficult emotions, and we encourage people to reflect on the issues behind their self-injury, and explore alternative coping mechanisms.

FirstSigns is managed and led by people with personal experience of self-injury, and we are non-judgemental, non-directional, and respectful of our members' and visitors' life experiences and perceptions.

The FirstSigns website is the centre of our vibrant community, and provides access to all our services, including our newsletter, message board and training.

We are very proud to be part of Bebo's <BeWell> project.

FirstSigns is also on Facebook and MySpace:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
http://www.myspace.com/MyLifeSIGNS

FirstSigns says:

"Along with our self-injury awareness Wristbands and Keyrings, we now have cool badges, so nice, and so cheap!" (35 weeks ago) me too!
Official Website
www.firstsigns.org.uk

URL
http://www.bebo.com/firstsigns

Profile Created
January 2008

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  • Orla luv Anonymous Bebo User

    started cutting round 4years ago tryin to stop but im findin it really hard just as i tink i have a handle on it i fall back again

    3 weeks ago
  • Lady Friea luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Have you got a cure for very sore eyes when a person is working on a LCD computer desktop from 9am to 1pm and after a while it will be 9am to 5pm and my eyes are really killing me.any ideas?

    5 weeks ago
  • Jenn T. Anonymous Bebo User

    Hey! I started Cutting when I was in the 8th grade which was in 2000 and the last time I cut was about 4 yrs ago. I use to cut cause of my dads drinking and just school stuff. There's somedays when I'm feeling down I think about cutting but I know if I do it would get me back in trouble with si. I was wondering Do You Actually Ever Cured of Self Injury.. I'm not sure what do yall think.

    7 weeks ago
  • Yvonne luv Anonymous Bebo User

    i used to self harm when i was a teenager due to my dad being an alchoholic . he used to hit me ,my mam and mybrother.

    now im 38 i amost self harmed last nite ( my ex left me in debts im trying to manage but its hard when yr on yr own to try to deal with it)

    i always there in the back of my mind to self harm , how does anyone deal with it in their older yrs ??

    7 weeks ago
  • Wedge B luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Firstly, we need to accept that we don't know everything that's going on in his life or in their relationship. Hopefully he'll want to talk to a friend about what's stressing him out. Maybe that'll be you? People who self-harm need help and support to rely on new ways of coping, but it can be a long journey so patience and understanding is needed. We have a page and a fact sheet for guys on our main website.

    8 weeks ago via Mobile
  • Smash Proof luv Anonymous Bebo User

    ok
    so heres a question im not 2sure if u can reply it
    but ahhh
    i know of some 1 who does harm himself
    but he only does it when him & his partner have a disagreement or somethink.
    or even if she dont believe him he cuts himself
    its sad i dont know what 2do

    what can be done?

    8 weeks ago
  • Davina luv Anonymous Bebo User

    woohoo finally found the bebo link :L

    11 weeks ago
  • Wedge B luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Are many of you guys starting Uni? Is it back to school / college for many of you?

    12 weeks ago via Mobile
  • SuperNormal luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Love to first signs,
    I stopped self-harming for a bit,
    But have started again.
    I have a counsiller and friends I could talk to, but I find it really hard to find the words.
    I will though.
    <3

    12 weeks ago
  • - - AmandaXo luv Anonymous Bebo User

    <3

    15 weeks ago
  • Vicki Scallan Anonymous Bebo User

    my friend used to self-harm, but she's all good now.
    it's such a scary thing seeing someone you love hurt themselves like that.

    16 weeks ago
  • Charlotte luv Anonymous Bebo User

    <3

    First Signs Has Helped Me So Much
    And It Will Continue To Do So
    Mucho Love
    'ox

    16 weeks ago
  • SuperNormal luv Anonymous Bebo User

    <3

    19 weeks ago
  • FirstSigns Anonymous Bebo User

    Is that 169 members? Wowee, we've really been growing, even though summer can be a quiet time when we're all offline and out n about!

    Thanks for all your support - check out our new web address though at www.FirstSigns.org.uk

    20 weeks ago
  • Laura E luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Thank you so much for all the help... your website has helped me through things, and i haven't quit yet, I haven't given up yet either :D

    25 weeks ago
  • Wedge B luv Anonymous Bebo User

    A month is a great time without SI - well done you!

    I hope you can keep yourself healthy and happy so you can get through the whole summer, and beyond!

    26 weeks ago
  • FirstSigns Anonymous Bebo User

    Please remember,

    your friends might one day find your 'comments' here, so be aware of your privacy.

    Thankfully, non-Bebo members cannot see your name or photo on the 'comments' but if you post on the 'Forum' within this page, your name *is* shown - just to let you know.

    26 weeks ago
  • Sophie GRawr Goes The Dinosaur Anonymous Bebo User

    I havent self harmed in almost a month :)

    Still finding life difficult though :( :(

    26 weeks ago
  • Ucie Et Olly luv Anonymous Bebo User

    <3
    Hope everyone is ok
    x

    26 weeks ago
  • Dark'Desire luv Anonymous Bebo User

    Ive been self harming for about a year now and a few days ago my best mate told my mum about it. She was really confused and upset at first and found this website. She said it helped her a lot so I went onto it aswell. This site has really helped me!


    Thanks :)


    Jen

    28 weeks ago

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  • Three little things...

    Friday, October 17, 2008

    First of all, we hope you're all settling back into work, school, college and life after the summer. As predicted, the message board is becoming much busier now the holidays are over and it's important we keep it fresh and up-to-date. We'll therefore be deleting all unused accounts at the end of the month, so if you haven't posted in a while and want to keep your account, please post a quick 'hello' so we know you're still around.

    We'd also like to remind you of our rules regarding communications and the provision of personal details. For the safety of all our members we do not allow email addresses to be visible in profiles and we ask you not to share other personal details including IM chat names, phone numbers, personal photographs etc. We have our Table for Two for you to build your online friendships and many of you also have the privilege of Personal Messages. We're sure we don't need to explain the reasons behind these safety measures, but if you do have any questions please email Jules@firstsigns.org.uk or further information can be found here.

    Lastly some good news – the next edition of our newly named Newsletter, SHiNES will be sent out towards the end of this month. We're grateful to have Tim on board helping us with our newsletter and it really is a fantastic issue, Autumnal and Beautiful, so if you aren't signed up to receive our newsletter, now would be a great time to do so by visiting http://shines.firstsigns.org.uk/


    We wish you all a healthy, happy Autumn and look forward to seeing you around.

    Wedge and Jules

    0 Comments 47 days

  • Wedge speaks at a school in Exeter

    Wednesday, October 01, 2008

    On Monday, Wedge and I attended a school in Exeter after being invited to speak on the subject of self-injury.

    The school in question had recognised a need for more awareness on the subject for their staff and we were warmly welcomed by the school nurse who had organised the event, and all the teaching staff who attended.

    It was fantastic to see a school take such a serious interest in self-injury and to recognise the need for a self-injury policy within their school.*

    Self-injury affects so many young people it's probably safe to say that every school in the country has pupils who hurt themselves in order to cope with their emotional distress. The difficulty is in making schools aware of this need and persuading them to acknowledge that self-injury *does* exist among their pupils.

    We can't blame schools for being reluctant; after all it wasn't so many years ago that most schools refused to admit bullying existed within their walls and playgrounds. These days it's accepted that bullying does take place within all schools, and the majority now have anti-bullying policies in place.

    We hope that in time all schools will acknowledge the need for a self-injury policy, and the school we visited in Exeter has taken a huge step forward in helping towards self-injury awareness. We must congratulate and thank them for their open attitude and forward thinking.

    Wedge's talk, as always, was very well received, and we have been asked to return later in the academic year to talk again about self-injury to an even wider range of staff, including some from the attached junior school.

    I should also mention that the school were impressed by our safe and user-friendly website and message board, and we have also been asked to return to talk about UK Child Internet Safety and how people can protect themselves online.

    The day was a great experience - a significiant leap forward in our endeavours to raise awareness about self-injury and a fantastic commitment from the school involved.

    We look forward to our return visits.

    *Any schools interested in our self-injury training please contact Wedge@FirstSigns.org.uk or for our latest guidance document written specifically to assist schools wishing to implement a Self-Injury Policy please email Jules@FirstSigns.org.uk.

    0 Comments 63 days

  • Launch of September Tell Someone Month

    Monday, September 01, 2008

    The FirstSigns 'Tell Someone Project' runs every March and September, and today we launch our September 2008 Tell Someone Month.

    Wedge says: “We're very excited to help people help themselves, and the 'Tell Someone' project may well help you break through your fears and actually tell someone about your self-injury, and the emotional reasons behind it.”

    We understand that coming out about self-injury can be daunting, but isn't the secrecy overwhelming too? It can be incredibly lonely when you feel that you're the only person who could be hurting themselves and are struggling with the accompanied emotional distress alone.

    But you're not alone and at FirstSigns we've been working since 2002 to raise awareness, banish the stigma and empower people to help themselves.

    So, how do you tell someone and who do you tell?

    It's entirely up to you, but we have some tips on coming out on our website, and we urge you to take some to reflect on who you might tell and how you'll do it.

    We'll be by your side throughout the month of September in our special 'Tell Someone Forum' within our Message Board. There you will find hints, tips, guidance and ideas on telling people, and you share your stories with others who are taking the same step.

    We're hoping to have our new 'I Told Someone' stickers ready for the end of the month, so if you email Jules@firstsigns.org.uk with your I Told Someone stories, we'll send you a sticker sometime next month by snail mail (UK only).

    For our non UK members or anyone who doesn't wish to receive post from us, you can request an avatar or web banner to be emailed instead. Again, we hope to have these ready by the end of the month, but we're really busy right now so please be patient if it takes us a while longer.

    So, please do let us know who you've told, how it went and how you felt about it both at the time and now, and we may even publish some of your stories later in the year.

    Will this be the month you finally come out and tell someone?

    0 Comments 93 days

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  • An answer An answer whereas regular comments are quick and easy to use for those who tire and become bored easily of applications such as the whiteboard:)
    such artistic expression which can be shown on the whiteboard could be helpful to those who reuire a little something to keep them occupied even if it is simply... Julie N 0 Replys

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  • Comments? Whiteboard? Forum?

    Wedge B by Wedge B
    There are certainly a lot of ways to leave your mark on a Bebo profile - which is best? What's the difference between a whiteboard comment and a Comment comment?!
    1 Reply 46 weeks

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