WHAT IS IT?

Self-harm is the deliberate harming of one’s body, resulting in tissue damage, without the intent of suicide. The most common forms of self-injury include cutting, scratching, burning, and bruising. These can range in severity from minor or moderate.

WHO DOES IT?

Males and females of all ages, ethnic groups, and religions self-injure. Some reasons why people self-injure include distracting themselves from emotional pain, punishing oneself, relieving tension, pain, or other emotions to oneself or others, loss of someone close to them, and/or being bullied either physically or sexually.

Approximately two million cases are reported annually in the United States, but the numbers of unreported cases are far more apparent. About 50 percent of those who engage in self-injury begin around 14 and carry on into their 20’s.

Some warning signs to watch for include unexplained wounds or scars, bloodstains, sharp objects, covering up, and isolation.

I’M HARMING MYSELF…

If you’re ready to face your self-harm head on- good job! This takes a lot of strength and we congratulate you on it. The first step is confiding in another person that you can trust such as a family, friend, youth pastor, pastor, mentor, counselor, teacher, etc. You can also contact us to build a support system.

Focus on your feelings that lead up to self-harming rather than the actual activity of self-harm. Once you can figure out what it is that leads up to self-harm, then you can start to avoid the triggers or work on the issue that causes the self-harm. Some self-injury triggers are sadness, anger, shame, loneliness, guilt and emptiness. Others include music, photos, words, videos, etc. Read on for several self-harm alternatives to try when avoiding self-harm