Appeal: A journey from self-harm to self-help

Sharon Windsor, 33, is what is often referred to as a "wounded healer". She is one of the 220 volunteers who will be staffing SANELINE's phones over the Christmas period – but her motivation is different to the majority of her colleagues.

For 20 years, Mrs Windsor was caught in a cycle of "self-harming", regularly cutting herself. It wasn't until she was hospitalised three years ago, after slashing a vein, that sherealised it was time to confront her condition.

Since then, Mrs Windsor has made a full recovery. She is close to completing a diploma in counselling, and is a regular volunteer on SANELINE.

Calls made to SANELINE by self-harmers have almost doubled over the past five years. Last year, nearly 3,000 calls were received, 85 per cent of them from women.

"Talking to someone can be a life-saver," Mrs Windsor said. "When I was ill, often all I needed was a couple of key words said to me to put things into perspective. Now hopefully I can do that for others."