Hi there,

I know some members from this group have participated in our research, so I wanted to send along a quick update and to let you know that we are still recruiting participants for our research on self-harm.  The Characteristics Associated with Self-Injury Study began in March 2009. Since we began, over 350 people from 18 different countries have participated in this study. 83 people are currently participating in the longitudinal portion of the study, completing questionnaires every three months. This part will help us understand patterns of self-injury over time, as well as what motivates people to recover or stop from self-injuring. 

Below is some more information about the study. Please email us at perl@sfu.ca if you have any questions or if you are interested in participating!

Best wishes!
The Personality and Emotion Research Lab




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Hello again from the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL)!

Would you like to help us understand how to help people who self-harm? We are currently recruiting participants for the second phase of our research on self-harm, and we want your help! Participating in the study takes 2 hours, and you will receive an online gift certificate worth $10 CAD for each time point you complete, plus a chance for a $25 bonus if you complete all the follow-ups for a total of $75.

If you are interested in participating, please email us at perl@sfu.ca. All your information will be kept confidential, and no identifying information is linked to your responses.


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THE DETAILS:

Background Information:

Self-injury (sometimes called “self-harm”) involves harming yourself on purpose. Some examples include cutting or burning yourself, taking an overdose of pills, or banging your head. Right now, very little is known about why people start or stop self-harming. The Personality and Emotion Research Lab (PERL), a research team from Simon Fraser University in Canada, is conducting a study to learn more about the experiences of people who self-harm, and we want your help! We are interested in how emotions, life experiences, stress and coping styles affect self-harm. We hope that this research will help other people understand more about why people self-harm and what they can do to help.

What you can do:

If you want to participate in this study, you will fill out online questionnaires on self-harm, emotions, coping, symptoms, and life events. These questionnaires will take approximately 2 hour to complete. Later, you’ll have a chance to complete follow-up questionnaires over a 12 month period. Although the first session is long, the follow-up questionnaires are shorter, and usually take on 30 to 90 minutes to complete.

Who can participate:

We are looking for people who currently self-harm (whether you are trying to stop or not), AND those who have self-harmed in the past and quit.You must be at least 16 years old to participate.

What’s in it for you:

Participants who complete the questionnaires will receive a $10 (Canadian currency) gift certificate each time you complete the questionnaires (from amazon.com or PayPal). In addition, you will receive a $25 bonus if you complete all five follow-ups in the first year! Telling us about your experiences will give us important information on how self-harm changes over time, and could help develop and improve treatments for people who want to stop self-harming.

Important Information:

This study is the second phase of this line of research, and builds on the previous study. If you have already participated in our research (in a study called “Characteristics Associated with Self-Injury”), you are still eligible to complete this study.

Please contact us at perl@sfu.ca if you are interested in participating or if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL)
Simon Fraser University
Department of Psychology
RCB5246, 8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6

die2beperfect

There are nails in my head

There are claws in my heart

There's a hole in my being

That's falling apart

There's a light in my soul

And there's hope in my mind

There's a tiny voice begging

To be left behind

There's a ribcage that's heaving

There's a whole mass of bone

But there really is nothing

I can call my own

There's a path to forgiveness

But it's too hard to tread

And the weight of contrition

Is heavy as lead

So I dance on the ceiling

And I wave with my head

I might as well live life -

I'll so soon be dead.
 

die2beperfect

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tired

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Okay so its 7.20am and I have not slept a wink.....not even dozed for like 2 minutes!!!! I am so tired right now its unbelievable!! Also for the past week I have just binged and binged and binged. Its like I can't stop!!! I haven't weighed myself because I'm too scared but I'm sure I've gained at least 2 kilos. Its my birthday on Tuesday and I want to feel good for once so I'm hoping to fast until then at least maybe longer if I can get away with it. My life is so crap atm I feel like there is nothing to live for. I wan to cut so badly but I won't....I'm going to stay strong!! I've decided I'm going to get my racer bike back from the repair shop and go for a long cycle. Then I'm going to do some core work and upper body strenghtening as well. I'm going to the movies this evening with my anorexic friend who also self harms so at least I won't have to worry about food around her : ) I am jealous of her though because she is so tiny and she can;t even see it!!!! I wish I could be like her!!!!

Also on another note, I have been with my boyfriend for nearly 5 months now and we still haven't had sex. This is because of my reluctance to do so. I'm afraid he will see my scars and freak out but I'm also very insecure about my body. Also I find that sex hurts and I get no pleasure from it. So I'm afraid my boyfriend is going to dump me either because he's not getting any or because I'm crap in bed. This has scared the crap out of me for the last while and I just dunno what to do. Sorry if theres a bit too much info but I feel I needed to get that off m chest! Does anyone know what I should do???

Hello again from the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL)!

Would you like to help us understand how to help people who self-harm? We are currently recruiting participants for the second phase of our research on self-harm, and we want your help! Participating in the study takes only 90 minutes, and you will be entered into a draw to win one of five prizes of $150 CAD. If you are interested, please email us at chapman_lab@sfu.ca. All your information will be kept confidential, and no identifying information is linked to your responses.

**************************************************************
THE DETAILS:

Background Information: Self-injury (sometimes called “self-harm”) involves harming yourself on purpose. Some examples include cutting or burning yourself, taking an overdose of pills, or banging your head. Right now, very little is known about why people start or stop self-harming. The Personality and Emotion Research Lab (PERL), a research team from Simon Fraser University in Canada, is conducting a study to learn more about the experiences of people who self-harm, and we want your help! We are interested in how emotions, life experiences, stress and coping styles affect self-harm. We hope that this research will help other people understand more about why people self-harm and what they can do to help.

What you can do: If you want to participate in this study, you will fill out online questionnaires on self-harm, emotions, coping, symptoms, and life events. These questionnaires will take approximately 90 minutes to complete.

Who can participate: We are looking for people who currently self-harm (whether you are trying to stop or not), AND those who have self-harmed in the past and quit.

What’s in it for you: Participants who complete the questionnaires will be entered in a draw to win one of five prizes of $150 CAD. Telling us about your experiences will give us important information on how self-harm changes over time, and could help develop and improve treatments for people who want to stop self-harming.

Important Information: This study is the second phase of this line of research, and builds on the previous study. If you have already participated in our research (in a study called “Characteristics Associated with Self-Injury”), you are still eligible to complete this study.


Please contact us at chapman_lab@sfu.ca if you are interested in participating or if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL)
Simon Fraser University
Department of Psychology
RCB5246, 8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6

tairadactyl

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calm

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 My name is Altaira, i'm 22 married and 5 months pregnant. I'm falling further and further into depression. I'm alone all day, i can't find a job for myself and all of my friends and family have lives and jobs like normal people so i don't see them or hear from them much. I use to be a really bad cutter. My tattoo on my left arm is huge so it covers all the old scars but my right arm does not. When i was in the hospital for a check up my nurse asked me what this huge gash of a scar was on my arm and i told her i use to cut myself. talk about awkward silence. But it made me go back to all the times i spent in my room as a teenager and young adult, comforting myself with music and slicing up my arms till i felt numb enough. I guess i'm lacking security in my life, and stressed so i'm starting to think about how much of a security like feeling i use to have. I know and you all know, self mutilation is not something we should resort to. Its harmful to us aswell as our loved ones. Not to mention i'm pregnant. but still i want to cut so badly. is this so wrong of a desire?