Self Harm
Self-harm is a way of coping with a specific problem and they stop once the problem is sorted out. Other people self-harm regularly whenever they feel over-loaded with thoughts and feelings.
Self-harm can be seen as a way of expressing an emotional pain that is too difficult to describe. When people harm themselves they can feel a release which they feel helps them to cope with things, even if the feeling is temporary.
Emotions that could be felt are anger, depression, emptiness, self-loathing, loneliness or guilt. When these feelings get overwhelming, hurting yourself might seem to provide you with an outlet to ease the pain.
Young women are most likely to self-harm, although figures suggest that the number of young men who self-harm is growing.
Other issues that may make you more likely to self-harm include:
- Life events that may be triggers for self harm such as the death of a friend or relative, sexual abuse, school pressures or bullying.
- Using street drugs or alcohol.
Young people often feel under a lot of pressure from their families, people their age and school work. Many young people also report having friends who self-harm.
Depression and anxiety may lead to self-harm.
How do people self-harm?
Things considered as self-harm include:
- Cutting yourself
- Scratching or burning your skin
- Hitting your body against objects
- Punching yourself
- Pulling out hair
- Swallowing or inhaling harmful substances
- Taking overdose of medicines
- Self-neglect (such as lack of eating, bathing etc.)
What is the root cause of self-harm?
It’s very difficult to say what causes each individual person to hurt themselves. With some people it is things that have happened in the past, but it could be a sudden new problem. Sometimes, the difficulty of everyday life for some people is too much and self-harm is a way to cope.
There are some young people who self-harm who have had very difficult or painful experiences. These could include being bullied or being assaulted, being ignored, separated or losing a loved one, being neglected by the family or suffering physical or sexual abuse. Self-harm can also stem from being homeless or in care.
Feeling pressure to do well at school or trying to meet other people’s expectations can make you feel angry and want to hurt yourself. You may feel angry that your body doesn’t look like you want it to – often self-harm can be linked with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These conditions can be seen as forms of self-harm in themselves.
Occasionally young people self-harm because friends or other people in their peer group do it. More often than not though, self-harm is a way of attempting to deal with buried feelings or difficult feelings that have been blocked out.
What happens when people self-harm?
Just as there are many reasons why someone might self-harm, there are also many reactions that can result from self harm. It can:
- Reduce or relieve feelings of terrible tension
- Temporarily take away bad feelings
- Distract from emotional pain
- Make you feel alive if you feel numb a lot of the time
- Help you feel less guilty as you are punishing yourself
- Let other people know you need help – without having to speak about it
Are people who self-harm seeking attention?
Self-harming can be a cry for help especially when young people first hurt themselves. But a lot of the time people who self-harm hide what they do rather than show people as they are scared about how other people will react. It can also be because it is a private action, part of maintaining control. Self- harm is something they feel that they have ownership of and that changes when other people become involved. Also, revealing self-harm can open a door to having to face the reasons behind the self-harm and people may not be ready to do that.
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