today is national self harm awareness day and in lue of it i though i would share alittle about what self harm is and a little of my own issues with it.
Self harm is very misunderstood. It is a tool, although not the best one, which is used to cope with emotional issues. It can be in many forms such as cutting, buring, scratching, brusing and others. One of the most misunderstood notions is that people who harm themselves are trying to kill themselves.But this is not true. Why would someone hurt themselves then? No its not because they are a freak but because they have overwhelming emotional issues that they have a difficult time dealing with. Some examples of why are to express their pain or escape the numbness depression can bring, or to relieve anger, tention or fear. It causes relief from these issues by releasing endorphines into the body and calming that person.
Self harm is found to be more common with women than men and with people who have been abused. It can also be about perfectionism and is related to obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders.
Self harm may sound extremly disturbing to those who are not farmiliar but its very similar to less blatent forms of hurting ones self such as alcohol and drug addictions or excessive partying and risky behavior.
Its hard for me to openly state that i am a self harmer. I don't share that part of my life with people, other than my bf. For me it is not a way to receive attention, if it was, then i would be much more vocal about it with friends and family. I first tried it when i was 15 because i saw a friend do it and it was intriging. It wasn't until i was 16 when i had an unwilling experience of losing my virginity to a man much older than me, that it took over. Again that was also something no one knew about. My life has been very secretive and i am just getting to the point...at 21 years where i am begining to deal with those aspects of my past. I used self harm to unconsciously deal with my secrets. I would get very upset and not know "why" so i would use it to calm myself and beable to sleep. Self harm is a very self centered addiction. i say self centered addiction because it pulls that person away from reality to the point where it does not matter if someone wants you to stop. you can't. atleast until you are ready to let it go.
I will possible make a post later on ways a person can deal with a loved one's self harm but todays is getting long....
Here are a few sites that i find helpful if anyone is dealing with self harm or just want to find more information
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/self_injury.htm
http://gabrielle.self-injury.net/
if anyone wants to talk more indepth about this subject or about my history with it please feel free to message me : )
...oh and its also national pig day : p
I've also heard it referred to as 'self mutilation' - cutting, burning, doing harm to the body. About a month and a half ago, in my AP Psych class we watched a video on this issue.
It was said that it may have started in the 1700's and has not been discussed openly in the public like other issues...
Frankly, I don't like the idea of it. I'm kind of glad that there is now a self harm awareness day. It should be brought to public attention...
-Amanda-
i wouldn't be suprised if it has been around since then...eating disorders have been known to be around at that time too
I too used to be someone who has been into self harming. I have scars and it is embarassing trying to explain it to someone. "Oh the cat scratched me, or I bumped into something" Or you wear hoodies to try to cover it up. I used to do it because I felt that I should be punished so I punished myself. I think alot of people do it because they feel like things are always their fault, so some reason if even it isn't I am sorry for what you been through. people seem to get freaked out when I say this but If you need anyone to talk to I will listen and be there.
wow..severe subject to touch on...i think the thought crosses everyones mind...there is some sort of beauty i find in the complications of the of mind the individuals who posses such thoughts...or maybe is just the similarities i find. either way i do not feed into the thoughts of self mutilation because of its moral implications...but i view a certain attraction to the implications of its expression