Self Harm

Understanding Self-Harm: Causes, Behaviors, and Support

Self-harm is often a direct response to a traumatic event or ongoing emotional difficulties. When overwhelming feelings become too intense to manage, some people turn to self-injury as a coping mechanism. It can serve as a way to express emotions without words, communicate distress, or even act as a form of self-punishment when experiencing guilt or shame.

What is Self-Harm?

Self-harm is the intentional injury or damage to oneself, often used as a way to cope with emotional pain, trauma, or loss of control. While it may temporarily provide relief, it can also become a compulsive behavior that is difficult to stop without help.

Common reasons people self-harm include:

Regaining a sense of control during emotional chaos
Releasing feelings of anger, sadness, or frustration
Expressing guilt or self-hatred
Numbing emotional pain with physical pain

Common Forms of Self-Harm

Self-harm can take many forms, and people of any age, gender, or background may engage in these behaviors. Some of the most common include:

Cutting or scratching the skin with sharp objects
Burning or scalding the skin
Obsessive or extreme exercise
Intentionally overheating or under-heating the body
Substance misuse or abuse

Who is Affected by Self-Harm?

Self-harm can affect anyone, regardless of background, family, or environment. For many, it is a response to life circumstances they feel unable to control emotionally. While self-harm may appear to provide temporary relief, it can quickly lead to deeper struggles with mental health, including depression and anxiety.

Seeking Help for Self-Harm

If you or someone you care about is self-harming, it is important to know that support is available. Speaking with your GP, a counsellor, or a trained therapist can provide coping strategies, healthier ways to manage emotions, and a safe space to talk openly without judgment. Please call us on 0333 0096 321, fill in our contact form or email us to find a therapist who can help.

Final Thoughts

Self-harm is a sign of deep emotional distress, not weakness. By seeking help and reaching out for support, healing and recovery are possible.

More Information

Useful Articles

Here's a list of articles on self-harming you might find helpful.

Figures show extent of self harm in English teenagers
A World Health Organisation survey reveals that a fifth of 15-year-olds in England say they self-harmed over the past year

Self-harm: why would she cut herself?
The shocking discovery that her smart, lively 15-year-old daughter was self-harming opened Anna Stone’s eyes to the scale of the problems afflicting our troubled teenagers.

Cutting and Self-Harm: How to Feel Better without Hurting Yourself
Self-harm can be a way of coping with problems. It may help you express feelings you can’t put into words, distract you from your life, or release emotional pain. Afterwards, you probably feel better—at least for a little while. But then the painful feelings return, and you feel the urge to hurt yourself again. If you want to stop cutting or self-harming but don’t know how, remember this: you deserve to feel better, and you can get there without hurting yourself.

BBC Radio 1: Self Harm
The reasons why people self-harm are often misunderstood. Reading our fact file will hopefully help you understand why you or someone you care about is doing it, and how to take steps to stop it.

Poems and Quotes to Inspire You

Dare we hope? We dare.
Can we hope? We can.
Should we hope? We must, because to do otherwise is to waste the most precious of gifts given so freely by God to all of us. So when we do die, it will be with hope and it will be easy and our hearts will not be broken.

Andy Ripley – England and Lions rugby legend, often described as one of the most colourful personalities in the history of English rugby

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