In a person's most vulnerable state, the 'Calm Harm' app acts as their guide away from self harm. The app's creator states that "the urge to self harm is like a wave". This app lets an individual ride out this wave so that the urge dissipates. There 6 different activities to choose from: Comfort, Distract, Express Yourself, Release, Random, and Breathe. After going through each, it will ask you whether the urge has gone or if you need to continue going through the activities. Once you click 'yes', you will have the option of logging your experience in order to have a record of improvement or lack of improvement.

An app like this should have more attention than it's getting, at least from what I can see. I had never even heard of this app prior to writing this article. The only way this app can actually affect people and bring change is if everyone talks about this app to at least one other person who's never heard of it and then they talk about it to another person, and so on.

I hope this brings more attention to the alternatives to self-harm and encourages people who are in that dangerous situation to seek professional help. Even if they are hesitant to go out to get help, at least this app acts as a temporary solution to avoid self-harming.

As mentioned, it is technically a temporary, at-home solution to quell the urge to self-harm, and may not be a complete solution for everyone. Since it is an app, many people will question whether it will actually help because of the lack of an emotional connection. It won't hurt to try it out, and who knows, it may make all the difference in someone's life.

For more information, check out the app's page at https://calmharm.co.uk/.