What is self harm?
When we think of self harm (SH), we are likely to think of someone cutting themselves, but SH takes many forms and confusingly has different names. Generally self harm can involve any type of harm a person deliberately inflicts on themselves. This could be through mutilation, injury, overdose, binging or any other intentional act that causes harm physically or even emotionally. Forms of SH include cutting, interfering with the healing of wounds, burning skin and breaking bones. Eating disorders and excusive drinking are also considered forms of self harm, although they might not be obvious.
SH have different terms such as self injury (SI) and self mutilation (SM). Sometimes people may even go as far as to call it attempted suicide. This is possibility the biggest misconception about SH because the truth is nearly always the opposite. SH tends in fact to be a coping mechanism for problems and a way of keeping a person away from thoughts of suicide. Sophie, 16, said “Self harming is just like any other bag dangerous habit, you use it to cope with a problem”.
Who self harms?
Anyone can self harm over any difficulty they may be experiencing in their life. It is thought that 13-19 year olds have the biggest rate of self harm, with an estimated 3 young people self harming an hour. Over the last 10 years, the number of children disclosing self-harm to ChildLine’s counsellors has increased steadily and more rapidly over the last few years. One of the reasons for this may be that more are aware of self harm and are more able to self diagnose.
What triggers self harm?
There are many issues a young person may be facing that could cause them to self harm. These can include abuse of any kind, stress, mental illnesses, bad days, low self esteem, arguments, worry or low self esteem. |
Calls to Childline suggest young people often disclose anger and frustration at their situation, with self-harm providing their only outlet for this emotion. They also found that a common trigger was family relationships.
What do people get from self harm?
This might sound like a daft question to anyone who doesn’t understand that self harm for some is the only way they may feel they can get relief. That relief may be for many different and complex reasons. Cutting is the most common form of SH disclose to ChildLine. It may induce a feel of release when the blood ‘flows away’, making it feel like problems are going with it. All forms of SH may help distant overwhelming emotional feelings by causing a different focus. SH may be a way of ‘punishing’ oneself if experiencing feelings of worthless. It may be a way of feeling something if they feel ‘numb’. Some may want to express how much they are hurting so represent this through injury. Young people who self-harm also talk about a loss of control in life and that by inflicting injury and pain on their bodies, they gain a sense of control. Katie, 14 used to self harm, she told me “I needed a release, I wanted to be in control of something, I was finding everything too hard to deal with at the time.”
Why self harm can be addictive or a psychological illness
A person may harm only once. For others it might become a habit. When SH becomes a habit it can turn into an addiction or a diagnosable illness. For example, Anorexia and Bulimia are types of SH and serious psychological illnesses. SH can also become addictive in the case of physical pain. When we get hurt, we release chemicals like morphine to control the pain. On a regular basis these chemicals can become addictive. In some cases this may lead to withdrawal symptoms or taking it too far like with other addictions.
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