What is self harm?

Self harm is the act of intentionally hurting your body. Most people  who self harm are not doing it as a way to kill themselves, but a  way  to cope, although there is an increased risk of suicide with  people who self harm. Self harm is usually a symptom of mental  illness,  such  as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, post-  traumatic stress disorder, etc. People self harm for all different  reasons, including  but not limited to:

* To feel something (if they feel numb/empty/unreal/like they’re  feeling less emotion)
* Because they believe they deserve it (whether that be that they    deserve pain or scars/marks)
* As a distraction from anxiety
* As a distraction from thoughts caused by depression
* To release stress
* To cope with trauma/abuse
* To punish themselves
* To get a release from overwhelming feelings
* To deal with anger
* To deal with being bullied

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 A widespread misconception about self harm is that it’s attention  seeking. Most of the time this is entirely false and a lot of self  harmers go to great lengths to hide their injuries. When self harm  is done out of wanting attention, that suggests something is wrong  anyway. If  someone is so desperate for attention that they’re  willing to hurt themselves, no matter how superficial, then that  probably means there’s something going on there and they  deserve to be taken seriously too. Don't point and stare at people  who have scars, regardless of whether or not it is self harm.

 Signs that someone is self harming could be:

* Wearing long sleeves/pants even in hot weather
* Flinching, wincing, or drawing back when touched
* Blood on clothes
* Joking about hurting themselves
* Getting defensive about self harm (such as getting defensive  over a self harm myth)
* Taking razors or pencil sharpeners apart or pocketing them for     later
* Exercising too much
* Scratches, cuts, bruises, etc appearing on the body (this could  also be a sign of abuse)
* Refusing to change or take clothes off in front of someone
* Changes in eating, like restricting food intake
* Carrying items they could hurt themselves with, such as lighters  or sharp objects

Self harm can be addicting and is difficult to stop. Self harm  recovery can take years and it’s unreasonable to just ask/order  someone to stop hurting themselves, especially if you’re not  offering support or putting them in therapy. If you someone you  know is self harming,  the best ways to support them are to make  sure that they know you love them, let them  know you’re there for them and are willing to listen, and to suggest therapy (don’t push this if they don’t want to, though, unless you’re their parent).