Sarah is 21 and making a good recovery, having self-mutilated since the age of 14.
"The first thing I want to say is that I'm an extremely stubborn, independent person. I want to stress how difficult it was for me as such a stubborn person, to ask for help. If you cut yourself - you definitely need help.
"I was in boarding school and was very lonely and depressed. No one would have guessed as I pretended to be joyful and often acted the clown to make people laugh. By the time I was cutting myself every day, I was doing it for lots of different reasons. Sometimes I did it to punish myself. Other times I did it because I felt this pain inside and I wasn't sure if it was real, so I'd cut myself to make it look and feel real. It was like putting my pain on the outside so I could see what it looked like.
"My family didn't know about it until I told them. I was 18 then. I'd go home at holiday time, but no-one seemed to notice. Maintaining secrecy was difficult but I was away from home and my school uniform helped hide my wounds.
"Things got really out of hand when I was 17. I began carrying a knife in my pocket and the slightest thing that upset me I'd go and cut myself.
"I was meticulous about hiding any signs, but I'd cut my arms repeatedly, so often that they became really sore. Carrying anything became really difficult and I was wincing with the pain all the time.
"The worst point was one morning. The night before, I'd really torn my arms and legs apart. I awoke to find a blood-soaked towel around me and all I could see was blood in my sink, bin and all over my bed.
"The nurses didn't seem overly concerned when I went to them. They bandaged me up and arranged for me to see a psychiatrist. She had me fill in a questionnaire and said that I didn't seem to be depressed. I felt very frustrated at their responses. I felt all of this pain inside and they couldn't see it. Inside I was screaming at them 'Can't you see or hear me. Can't you see all of this pain inside me?
"College didn't work out for me and I ended up in hospital a couple of times. Slowly, I realised that not only did cutting not change things, it actually made things worse. Eventually, I got the help I needed. It wasn't easy finding the right person and this is so important.
"If you are even having thoughts about cutting yourself - that's a sure sign that you need help. Counselling is a great thing. I found it miraculous."