What is self-injury?
Self-injury is the intentional act of harming yourself without the intention of suicide, such as scratching, cutting or burning.
We need to urgently address self-injury in our society as self-injury is increasingly common especially among youths and it can increase the risk of death by suicide up to 7 times.
Who is At Risk?
The rates of self-injury are increasing, especially among youths. Factors that increase the likelihood of self-injury include:
- Experiencing disapproval by parents and/or significant others
- Being socially isolated
- Having past abuse abuse, trauma or chronic stress
- Experiencing mental health conditions
- Being part of a marginalized community
- Experiencing loss of a loved one
- Having high emotional sensitivity
Why do People Self-injury?
Most people self-injury to feel better. Self-injury is a way for them to cope when they feel too overwhelmed or when they feel completely numb.
People tend to self-injury to:
- Manage distress or relieve emotional pain
- Distract themselves and gain a sense of control
- “Feel something” other than numbness
- Punish themselves because they believe they had made a mistake
- Experience relief
How does Self-injury Start?
Everyone copes with stress using different strategies. Helpful coping strategies include managing the emotions we feel through journaling and meditation; while unhelpful coping strategies include drinking, cutting or hitting oneself.
Helpful coping strategies may not provide instant gratification, but they benefit your health and well-being. On the other hand, unhelpful coping strategies tend to feel good in the moment, but may be harmful and make stress worse in the long-run.
Like any other unhelpful coping strategy such as smoking or drinking, self-injury can be difficult to give up. The more people rely on self-injury to cope with emotional stress, the more anxious and distressed they feel, and the worse their physical health becomes.
But, coming out of this cycle is possible! Talk to someone as early as possible to get the right support and help.
Myths about Self-injury
- “Self-injury is a means to get attention.”
Self-injury is a means to cope with distress and is often done privately. The wounds are usually hidden from others perhaps due to feelings of shame. - “People who self-injury are suicidal.”
The difference between self-injury and suicidality is its intention. The intention behind self-injury is to feel better while the purpose of suicide is to end one’s life. Self-injury is usually done using non-lethal methods and is used to cope with emotional distress or stress. About 40% of people who self-injury also report some suicidality. - “Self-injury is a phase that people will grow out of.”
Self-injury is most commonly used as a way to regulate emotions and feel better. This means that people who self-injury are likely feeling much distress and may lack healthy coping strategies to manage their feelings.
Without social support and learning healthy coping strategies, many people will continue to use self-injury when they are in distress. People may regularly self-injury for a specific duration (e.g., days or weeks) and stop for an extended period (e.g., years) before returning to self-injury again.
- “People who self-injury enjoy pain, or they can’t feel it.”
Some believe that those who self-injury enjoy the pain or the risk involved associated with self-injury. However, there is no evidence that people who self-injury feel pain differently than anyone else; self-injury always causes great pain.
[information from healingourscars.sg]
