Deliberate self harm involves the purposeful hurting of your body, often as a way of coping with distressing or difficult feelings and thoughts. This sometimes involves cutting/scratching the body or non-lethal drug overdoses. It can also include other high risk behaviours intended to hurt oneself. We think about 10 -20% of young people harm themselves, but will often hide this behaviour from others because they feel ashamed or worried about it.
Self harm is behaviour with different functions, depending on the individual, such as:
- To reduce overwhelming feelings such as sadness, fear, or shame
- To ‘feel’ something where there is an absence of emotion or a numbness
- To reduce tension or anxiety
- To act as an avoidance of emotions, by focusing on bodily pain
- To reduce overwhelming feelings such as sadness, fear, or shame
- To ‘feel’ something where there is an absence of emotion or a numbness
- To reduce tension or anxiety
- To act as an avoidance of emotions, by focusing on bodily pain
