Self-harm is when a person hurts themselves as a way of dealing or coping with very difficult feelings or emotions. When people have painful memories or overwhelming situations and experiences, they may resort to hurting themselves. Some people describe self-harm as a way to:
- reduce the emotional pain they are experiencing
- cope when nothing else works
- express themselves because they do not have words to describe their pain
- start feeling something instead of feeling numb
- punish themselves for their feelings and actions
- having control over something in their life
- escape the trauma or memories of it
- express thoughts of suicide
People who self-harm have an immediate sense of relief which is short lived, as it soon is replaced by the same overwhelm and distress that they were initially experiencing. In fact self-harm often times can also bring even more difficult feelings and emotions that can make one feel worse and add more complicated feelings. People who self-harm have obvious underlying reasons to their harming behaviour, however it is important to recognize that self-harm does carry risks. People who start depending on self-harm may find it difficult to step out of the pattern of doing so and may also find it difficult to find other coping mechanisms because of their dependence on it.
How do people self-harm?
There are lots of different forms of self-harming. Some people use the same one all the time, other people hurt themselves in different ways at different times.
Warning: it can be upsetting and potentially triggering to read information about how to self-harm. If you are feeling vulnerable at the moment, you might not want to read the information below.
Ways people self-harm can include:
- cutting yourself
- poisoning yourself
- over-eating or under-eating
- exercising excessively
- biting yourself
- picking or scratching at your skin
- burning your skin
- inserting objects into your body
- hitting yourself or walls
- misusing alcohol, prescription and recreational drugs
- pulling your hair
- having unsafe sex
- getting into fights where you know you will get hurt.
If you self-harm, it is important that you know how to look after your injuries and that you have access to the first aid equipment you need. LifeSIGNS has information on first aid for self-injury and self-harm.
If you’re concerned about an injury or not sure how to look after it, see your GP.