A Perth mother who lost her daughter to self-harm has created a support group to help others cope with their loved ones’ mental health problems.
Tracy Swan said she felt isolated as she tried to support her daughter Jodie, who self-harmed for 12 years before her death.
The former Perth Academy pupil and Perth College UHI student was just 22 when she died two years ago.
The experience left Tracy determined to do all she could to help other affected people and bring the tragedy of suicide and self-harm into the open.
Tracy said: “For 12 years I was caring for my daughter who was a self-harmer.
“Unfortunately she was an in-patient at Murray Royal and died in there with a ligature through self-harm.
“The reason I set up the group was because the whole time that I was dealing with my daughter I never had any support.
“I also had two other children and they never received any support through the 12 years either and it greatly affected their lives.
“I set up the group so other families don’t have to go through what I went through.
“It means they can sit and talk in this group situation and relate to each other because we know how each other feels.”
The loss of 20-year-old Forfar Athletic footballer Jack Syme brought home to Tracy how much her support group was needed.
Jack, from Abernethy, was last seen on Sunday February 8 in the Kinnoull Hill area of Perth.
A body was found at the foot of the hill the next day.
Tracy said: “It was so sad because a lot of the feedback I have had said how appropriate it was to raise the profile of the group due to the death of one of our local lads, Jack Syme.
“I felt really isolated in all the years I dealt with Jodie.
“Even afterwards I still felt isolated because although my daughter died in 2013 there was nothing there to support us.
“We’ve had about 20 people through the door in the last four months and that’s 20 families that hopefully we are supporting that never had help before.
“They can talk freely without being judged as a lot of parents are embarrassed about their kids or mums who are harming. Here they don’t need to feel embarrassed.
“We’re not there as doctors or counsellors to advise. We are there because we care.”
Tracy hopes to build on the support group’s success by setting up a charity dedicated to the issue.
“I want to set up a charity with a safe place for actual self-harmers and people who have suicidal thoughts because there’s nothing out of hours,” she said.
“Self-harm is on the increase and a lot of people are not aware of that. There are a lot of suicides you never hear about and I don’t think the general public are aware of just how severe the situation is.”
Tracy set up the support group along with Kirsty Howell from Cair Scotland, which offers support and harm reduction services.
To attend meetings in Perth city centre, contact Tracy on 07715460590 or email tracy.selfharm@hotmail.com.
A celebration of Jack Syme’s life will be held this Friday at Perth Crematorium at 2pm.