Every day you come up here to find out what’s special about March 1. Sometimes it is about culture, art, science or food but today is different. March 1 is not about some fancy achievement rather it is about love, care, and appreciation. To sum up, it is a reminder that life is not a piece of cake and the only way to get through it is by kindness. Hence let us celebrate Self-Injury Awareness Day and World Compliment Day.
Self-Injury Awareness Day
Source: Mindsoother Therapy Center
We all know someone in our life who deliberately tried to hurt themselves because they were unable to cope with emotional distress. But instead of saying words like “Hey, it will be okay.” or “You can always ask for help.”; we are either too ignorant to notice or say “Stop being dramatic” or “They want attention. It is a phase.” Many people find it hard to understand that why would someone hurt themselves by inflicting pain.
Self-Injury Awareness Day is a global awareness campaign held on March 1 of every year. The main purpose is to dismantle the stigma around this misunderstood problem by educating and supporting people. As we mentioned before, Self-injury is deliberately inflicting pain to cope with emotional distress. It involves harming cutting, burning, scratching, and practicing any other behavior that might cause pain. However, It is not a mental disorder but can be a symptom of a psychological condition.
The signs and symptoms indicating that your loved one might be engaging in self-harm are:
- Scars
- Fresh cuts and bruises
- Excessive rubbing in an area creates a burn
- Frequent accidents
- Helplessness and Hopelessness
There can be many reasons behind self-harm/self-injury but some of the common reasons are:
- Inability to cope with emotions in a healthy way
- Depression, anxiety, or stress
- Punishing themselves
- Using pain for immediate relief
- Low self-esteem
- Complications in relationship
- Bullying
- Substance Abuse
- Eating Disorder
How to help people dealing with self-injury?
- Talk to them without any judgments
- Seek professional help
- Provide them a non-judgemental support system
- Provide them an alternative for anger and stress relief
Another worrying factor is suicide attempts. Although self-injury and suicide attempt is not the same, it does increase the chances of suicide. So it becomes important to spread awareness about self-injury.
So here is how you can observe this day:
- Wear orange as it is the color associated with this campaign.
- Start a conversation with friends and family
- Organize and Attend events to spread awareness
- And use your social media platform to spread awareness
World Compliment Day
Source: Merriam-Webster
Remember that amazing feeling when someone appreciates your work and tells you how beautiful you look today?
On March 1, the world celebrates Compliment Day to spread joy through the affirmation of appreciation. A compliment can make a huge difference in someone’s life. It increases the confidence of people who deal with low self-esteem. Apart from boosting serotonin, compliments are the greatest motivator. Here we are not only talking about giving compliments but also accepting them with positive affirmations. Thus, inculcating the habit of complimenting people will help us notice the positive aspects of people and life. So the best way to celebrate this day is to compliment your loved ones.
So here is the list of things to keep in mind while complementing people:
- Be authentic and genuine
- Be a good observer and give details
- Don’t give a compliment for the sake of giving it
- Make sure that your compliment doesn’t make them uncomfortable.
And here is how you can gracefully receive a compliment?
- Say Thank you
- Don’t deny
- Body Language is everything. Welcome a compliment with a warm facial expression
- Share more details
How to celebrate this day?
We don’t live in la-la land and things can sometimes get hard, so use the power of your words to bring a smile to someone’s face.
