I recall a conversation with a paramedic in our local area, who was so fed up with one particular self-harmer messing about scratching her wrists that he told her how to slash her wrists properly. He advised her not to go across the wrist, but up the forearm, as this opens up the blood vessels and makes it more difficult to stem the flow of blood. A week or so later, he had to call us in to deal with the sudden death of this young lady who had taken his advice and did the job properly.