Self-harm survivors from Dundee have launched a new project aimed at breaking the taboo.
Chelsea McGuire, who started the initiative, has teamed up with photographers and other interested individuals as well as the charity Eighteen And Under in order to reach as many people as possible.
Herself a self-harm survivor, Chelsea said the issue affects thousands of young people and adults.
She said: “We hope that this project can help to give a voice to people who have had problems with self-harm and encourage them to seek support for it.
“One of our main aims is also to help families and loved ones of self-harmers to better understand the issue as it can be very difficult for them to cope with also.
“When people look at photographs they can’t hide from it, they feel an immediate response and that is more powerful than what words can do.
“Our emotions can really triggered by images. That’s what we hope to achieve here.
“Raising awareness of all forms of self-harm is important to us. And so we would like to invite anyone affected by any form of self-harm to get involved with this project.”
Chelsea added: “I hated myself at the age of 13 and wanted to punish myself for not being good enough.
“I did this by pulling my own hair, nipping and scratching myself and cutting my arms, legs and stomach.
“I would be in a highly emotional state when I self-harmed but I got relief from it, I actually felt better after I had done it.”
Her wounds caused immense pain, and on occasion she would be so badly hurt from self-abuse that she would need stitches.
She had to hide the scars from her parents, family and classmates at Baldragon Academy, which she attended at the time.
“It was really difficult to hide what I had done, but I made sure my legs, arms and tummy were always covered,” she said.
“I felt I couldn’t stop myself, and it kind of took over.”
When she was 18 she found the courage to tell her family, and finally overcame her self-harm at age 21.
She said: “However, I will always carry the scars of many years of self abuse.”
Keiran Watson of Eighteen And Under said the charity is always keen to support any new project.
He added: “Self-harm is often used as a coping mechanism for trauma and in many ways is a natural response to stress, but there are alternatives.”
The UK has seen a large rise in the number of young people self-harming in recent years with A&E departments seeing a 70% increase in the number of 10-14 year olds with injuries in 2014 compared with the previous two years.
It is estimated that around 13% of people aged 11-16 self-harm.