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Key points
- Self-harm includes behaviors such as cutting, burning, and wound picking.
- People engage in self-harm to avoid or manage their feelings, feel pain when they are emotionally numb, or punish themselves.
- Treatment can effectively stop self-injury as well as address any underlying mental health disorders.
March is Self-Harm Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raise awareness and educate the public on self-harm behavior and how it can be linked to other mental health disorders. There are many common misconceptions associated with self-harm. Understanding the underlying triggers and reasons related to this behavior can help others understand why this disorder is so important and why individuals should seek professional health immediately.
What is Self-Harm?
It is essential to eliminate any misconceptions regarding the facts about this behavior. Self-harm, formally referred to as non-suicidal self-injury, is the intentional act of causing physical pain to oneself without the intent of committing suicide. Cutting, burning, head banging, wound picking and burning are common methods of self-harm behavior. Current studies suggest that approximately 4 percent or more of the population self-injures, and as high as 14 percent of adolescents may engage in this behavior. This behavior is commonly associated with eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, and substance abuse disorders.
Why Do Individuals Engage in Self-Harm?
- To feel pain: Many individuals engage in self-harm behaviors as a way to experience physical pain when they are otherwise emotionally numb. Individuals who have a history of trauma or abuse will often feel numb as a way to block out the memories and internal emotions. Over time, this numbness can feel like an empty pit at the bottom of an individual’s stomach, and they will long to feel some emotions or feelings. Self-harm allows for individuals to feel again.
- To induce punishment: Individuals who engage in self-harm behavior often feel guilty or unworthy. Their low self-worth may stem from past experiences such as bullying, abandonment, trauma, or loneliness, and as a result, they will often feel as though they are not good enough to belong. Those who are struggling with eating disorders, a substance use disorder, or a mental health disorder may harvest feelings of guilt because of these underlying disorders, especially if they are not properly treated. Self-injury behaviors are a means of punishment to relieve individuals from their “guilt.”
- To distract from unwanted feelings: Many individuals who engage in self-harm experience intense impulsive urges to cut as a way to avoid internal feelings. They may experience anxiety, sadness, loneliness, anger, and other negative unwanted feelings. They may unwanted experience memories and flashbacks, and instead of sitting through them and practicing healthy coping skills, self-harm can be an easy distraction. For these individuals, self-harm is a way to forget about painful emotions or memories that are bubbling to the surface.
- To regulate internal emotions: Self-harm behaviors are often a way for individuals to have a temporary outlet from feelings they are not able to cope with or work through. Inflicting physical pain is a fleeting way to escape from reality and to express internal emotions. Self-harm releases a surge of endorphins, which create a sense of euphoria and relaxation. This temporary state is quickly replaced by feelings of guilt and shame, resulting in even more negative internal emotions, which can be a strong driving force to continue the cycle of self-harm.
Individuals do not engage in self-harm behaviors for attention; they are also rarely a direct attempt to commit suicide, though some who self-harm also struggle with suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Why Should You Seek Professional Treatment for Self-Harm?
Self-harm is an unhealthy coping mechanism to overcome underlying triggers that have elicited feelings of pain, guilt, and shame. Most likely, individuals are struggling with undiagnosed mental health disorders that may only become worse without proper treatment. Although individuals who engage in self-harm do not necessarily have an intention to commit suicide, future suicide rates are higher in this population up to six months after these self-harm behaviors.
Professional treatment can help these individuals learn to manage their emotions and overcome their internal battles by developing healthy coping skills. The goal of treatment is not only to stop individuals from engaging in self-harm behaviors but also to treat any underlying mental health disorders and prevent future suicide attempts. The goal is not only to save lives but to restore a sense of purpose and feelings of happiness in each individual.
To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
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