What we do
We share ideas of how to beat self-harm that have worked for people like you.
We deliver in-person workshops in schools and offer digital workshops to share creative ways to overcome self-harm
We sell merch with a message to help start conversations & fund our work.
Around 1 in 6 people around the world will self-harm in their lifetime. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young people around the world. As human beings, we’re facing difficult situations every day, and don’t always have the tools to deal with them.
That’s where Heads Above The Waves comes in.
We’re here because we’ve been through different forms of self-harm ourselves. And we’ve found better ways to deal with all the stuff that life throws at us. If we can get through it, we know you can too.
We want to:
- Help people find their way of coping with the bad days.
- Make it easier to talk about whatever you’re facing.
- Remind you that you’re not alone, and you can get through this.
What is Self-Harm?
Self-harm can affect different people in different ways. One size doesn’t fit all.
Often when we talk about “self-harm” people tend to think of actions like cutting, burning, or punching. But we define self-harm as anything that’s harmful to yourself. So we include things like restrictive eating, substance abuse and putting yourself in risky situations.
We’ve got such a broad definition because we believe that whatever the harmful behaviour is, more often than not, it’s a reaction to something else that’s going on. It’s a sign that something is causing that person distress.
So our mission is to help people deal with the root cause of their distress. And because self-harm affects people in so many different ways, we want to help people find ways to deal with it that are as unique as they are.
Our Mission
Self-harm affects around 1 in 12 young people, yet it remains an issue people struggle to handle, talk about, and understand. We aim to change this.
Our Values
We want to make it easier for people to talk honestly and openly about self-harm, without fear of stigma or ignorance. But more than that, we want to make it easier for people to talk…
Who Are We
We’ve been through it ourselves, and come out the other side; we want to let people know that they’re not alone. So who are we?
