Why Self Harm?

Self-harm, is also known as self-injury, self-inflicted violence, self-abuse, or self-mutilation.

There are many reasons for someone to hurt themselves - Anger, Sadness, Anxiety, Turmoil, Grief, Inferiority, Pain, Guilt, Fear, Abuse and Depression - the list can go on...

All the reasons above are normal everyday stresses, and people cope with them in many different ways, some better than others.

Self destructive behaviour may seem a bit extreme, but a lot of people end up turning to something a lot more serious like being murderers, terrorist, rapist and so on, although it may not always be the case, I do think that a lot of the above stresses will be behind this kind of behaviour.

Self-Harm is far more widespread than anybody would realise, and can be done in many different ways. The most common is probably "cutting" (I hate that word, and yet it's probably the way that I cope with life more than any other form of self-harm). This is done mainly on the arms, legs or across the stomach and chest. Cuts are usually quite superficial, unless the person is under the influence of alcohol or been taking drugs and that's when they cut to deep and they need professional attention. Sometimes people will burn or scald themselves, punch or hit parts of their bodies against something to cause pain and bruising, less visible injuries can be caused be inhaling or swallowing dangerous substances.

And yet there are other forms of self-harm that are acceptable, for instance, the people that are repeatedly biting and tearing the skin around their nails, smoking, drinking too much, over working and ignoring their own needs and feelings. Everyone self-harms but in ways that are socially acceptable but nevertheless risky and harmful to themselves.

Self-inflicted injury may be much more immediately and dramatically destructive than these other forms of self-harm and yet not necessarily any more dangerous in the long-term. However like these it is carried out to help someone cope with their life.

Self Harm And Suicide

Self-harm is often mistakenly seen as a suicide attempt, although at the time it will feel like you want to die, afterwards people are often very clear about the difference between self-injury and a suicide attempt. Whatever similarities self-harm may bear to suicidal acts, it is not about dying. It is about coping and carrying on with life.

For self-harmers to contemplate Suicide they will have been pulled so low into some pit and think that they will never get back out! It's like being shut in complete darkness. People who want to commit suicide think there is no other way out and that they will never get better. Once the person has self-harmed there is a great chance that all the tension causing these feelings will have eased, giving way to a huge amount of relief.

To think about hurting yourself or wanting to die is a very lonely thing to experience and you become very isolated so you must try and let people in to help you get through this, I'm still learning to do so! it's not easy and requires a lot of trust between people. There are people out there who are willing to help and support you, but you do have to work with them and not against them.