Actress Meera Syal, 47, was compelled to make a new BBC documentary tackling the subject of self-harm.
Meera was moved after reading the shocking statistics from the Mental Health Foundation that young Asian women are three times more likely to self-harm than any other group.
It was around 11 years ago that Meera picked up a newspaper and read the headline ‘Young Asian women are three times more likely to self-harm than any other group’.
But next to the headline was another news story; ‘Asian women top the graduate league,’ Meera admits: “It disturbed me to see evidence of how much we can achieve, laced with our ability to destroy ourselves.”
Meera’s message to others is: “If you find out someone is self harming don’t panic, a first instinct is to think ‘Oh God, they are mentally unstable.’ But more often than not, it’s not a suicide mission, it’s a coping mechanism. They need to be supported and not be judged. Self harming is a big grey area, but there is life beyond it.” Link to part 2 of this interview
Source: This Morning Channel UK subscribers can still watch A World Of Pain: Meera Syal On Self Harm on iPlayer now.
