Calm Harm vs distrACT

The urge to self-harm is like a wave. It feels the most powerful when you start wanting to do it. Join over 2 million users and learn to ride the wave with the free Calm Harm app by choosing activities from these categories: Comfort, Distract, Express Yourself, Release, and Random. There is also a breathing technique to help be mindful and stay in the moment, regulate difficult emotions and reduce tension. When you ride the wave, the urge to self-harm will fade. Calm Harm is an award-winning app developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nihara Krause, in collaboration with young people, using principles from the evidence-based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). It is built to NHS standards and approved by ORCHA. Calm Harm provides some immediate techniques to help break the cycle of self-harm behaviours and explore underlying trigger factors; build a ‘safety net’ of helpful thoughts, behaviours and access to supportive people; and provides the opportunity to journal and self-reflect. It also provides signposts to help. The Calm Harm app is private, anonymous and safe. Reviews from Calm Harm app users: • ‘This app helps me so much. I can't thank you enough for improving my life.’ • ‘I was told by my support worker to download this, best thing I ever did!! It’s helped me a lot through the tough times and I would definitely recommend this!!!’ • ‘This app saves lives. It is a beautiful, beautiful tool. Thank you endlessly.’ Awards for Calm Harm include: • Health Tech Awards Winner ‘Best Healthcare App of the Year’ 2021 • Digital Leaders 100 Awards Winner ‘Tech for Good Initiative of the Year’ 2020 (for stem4’s app portfolio, including Calm Harm) • Third Sector Awards Winner ‘Digital Innovation of the Year’ 2019 Please note that the Calm Harm app is not a substitute for the assessment and individualised treatment by a health/mental health professional. Please also note that if you forget both your passcode and security answer, these cannot be reset as we do not create user accounts. You will need to reinstall the app, losing any previous data.

Concerned about self-harm? Feeling suicidal? Not sure what to do next? Then this app is for you. The distrACT app provides easy, quick and discreet access to general health information, self-help tips and links to support and trusted resources for those who self-harm or feel suicidal - and those supporting them. Open the app and find the following sections with reliable answers to your questions in plain language – anywhere, anytime, and in private: ► ABOUT SELF-HARM: Check out what self-harm is, why people self-harm, and how to spot the warning signs ► SELF-HELP: Learn how to identify your needs, manage the urge to self-harm and use safer alternatives ► SUPPORT: Find out about how to get support, where to go for further help, and what to say when talking with others about self-harm ► CALM ZONE: Discover new resources that may help you feel better when you're struggling or feeling tense, including art, books, films, music, poems, quotes, stories and online videos ► EMERGENCY: Know what to do in an emergency, how to access help and how best to work together with health professionals The distrACT app was co-created by practising UK health professionals together with people with lived experiences of self-harm and experts in self-harm and suicide prevention. Development partners include Bristol Health Partners, Self-Injury Support, Self-Injury Self Help, the University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Bristol, with additional input from other local and national organisations. Expert Self Care Ltd (the app's lead developer) is certified by the Patient Information Forum 'PIF Tick', the UK's quality mark for reliable health information. We want to improve this app further for you and others. So please let us know what you think about it. We'd appreciate your feedback. You can comment and suggest improvements from within the app or through our website at www.expertselfcare.com. Please could you also comment on and rate the distrACT app on the App Store to give other people information about whether they may want to download the app too. Thank you!