Self-harm is when you damage or injure your body on purpose.
There are many reasons why someone might self-harm. Most people self-harm as a way of coping with overwhelming emotions. These can include intense sadness, anxiety, anger and shame. Sometimes it’s just to feel something in response to feeling numbed out. These strong feelings or numbness can be triggered by a whole array of stressful life situations from work or study stress to having a fight with someone you love and everything in between. The main thing to remember is that the situation is difficult for the person experiencing it and it produces a strong emotional response.
- Self-harm is not uncommon, especially in young people.
- If you self-harm you are not weak or crazy or attention seeking. It just means you are overwhelmed by how you are feeling right now and this is a way you have found to cope.
- Some people who at risk of suicide but harming yourself doesn’t necessarily mean you want to end your life.
- Self-harming can make you feel better in the short term but doesn’t usually help in the long term. This is because, while takes away the painful feelings, it means you don’t learn other, healthy strategies for dealing with them. You also don’t figure out solutions for the problems causing them in the first place. It can also cause scarring, which many people who self-harm dislike. Fortunately, there are other things you can do that will help you start to feel better both now and in the long term.
Getting help using the contacts above is really important. But it’s up to you to decide.
When you’re ready to stop self-harming. Who you’d like to help you. In the meantime, here are some small things you can do:
- Learn what your triggers are – what are the situations that are overwhelming you? It could be places, certain behaviours in other people, times of day, etc. Keep a journal to build up a picture over time. This will be helpful when you เล่น UFABET ผ่านมือถือ สะดวกทุกที่ ทุกเวลา want to work with someone on stopping self-harm.
- Staying connected to family, whānau and friends can help you feel better. If you are spending a lot of time with people who self-harm, find other people to be with and do things together that you enjoy.
- Learn to recognise the warning signs of how you feel before you experience the urge to self-harm – physical sensations, such as a racing heart, shallow breathing, feeling ill, starting to feel as though you aren’t in your body or strong emotions like anger, or sadness or desperation. Make a note of these in your journal too.
- Think about what sorts of things you can do to distract yourself if you feel the urge to self-harm. Try exercise, music, talking on a helpline, putting ice on your forehead, having a very cold drink, drawing or painting. No matter how strange it may be, if it works for you it’s important. The Calm Harm App has a list of distracting and comforting activities that you can use to ride out the wave of the urge.
- Learn slow breathing as this is a great tool to calm yourself when you are distressed. Try the Calm Harm Breathe Activity on the Calm Harm App.
- Write a list of the things that work for you and keep it with you to remind yourself when you notice your warning signs. Some apps, eg, Virtual Hope Box, allow you to create your own reminders for different situations.
- Look after yourself – get enough sleep, eat regularly and get some exercise every day. Cut down on, or stop, taking alcohol and recreational drugs. Neglecting any of these simple things makes you much more vulnerable to overwhelming feelings and the urge.