Self Harm Awareness

Self-Harm Awareness Around 46% of teens said they self-harmed more than once last year (Study 1). Self-harm is the act of purposely hurting the surface of your own body (Self 1). Self-harm might sound outrageous, but it is not a mental illness. Instead, it is a symptom of other mental illnesses, including: depression, eating disorder, bipolar disorder, or anxiety (National 2). These mental illnesses also come along with other symptoms similar to self-harm like mood swings, guilt or hopelessness. Self-injury is an extremely unhealthy way to cope with emotional pain, and what many people do not understand is that it is usually not meant as a suicide attempt (Self 1). Teen suicide and self-harm is a growing problem in the United States. Teens …show more content…
Self-harm includes anything you do to intentionally hurt yourself. Some ways of self-harm include: cutting or scratching the skin, burning yourself, banging your head, biting or picking your skin, pulling out hair, inserting objects into the body, and ingesting things (Radev, 129). More in depth, there are two kinds of damage by self-harm. The first type is direct damage, this is damaging the body and a person’s health, causing pain and harm to the body (Radev, 128). The second type is indirect damage, this is damaging the body and a person’s health over time (smoking, drinking or doing drugs) (Radev, 128). One thing to look out for is sometimes when a person self-harms, they could possibly feel shame or guilt. If these feelings lead to more negative feelings, they could easily hurt themselves again (National 7).Going along with this, self-harm can become addictive, just like drugs or alcohol. It is almost like it can control you (Cutting …show more content…
If they have already decided to go down the path of self-harm, they should seek help before it gets worse. Treating these behaviors will take time, hard work, and the desire to get better (Self 5). When conquering self-harm it could be helpful to get a therapist or someone to confide in. When confiding in someone about self-harm you should focus on your feelings, communicate in a way you feel comfortable, and give that person time to process (Cutting 3). Another thing you have to do is be open. Be open to receiving help from others (Cutting 2). To overcome self-harm you should try to pinpoint your triggers and get in touch with how you really feel (Cutting 4). Therapists say that treatments will focus on helping you develop healthier coping behaviors (Understanding 3). There are many different coping mechanisms, some of the most common ways include: painting, drawing, writing, or music, taking a hot bath or shower, squeezing or throwing ice cubes, exercising, and punching a pillow or mattress (Self 2). “Teens who want to stop self-harming but don’t know how, remember this: you deserve to feel better, and you can get there without cutting yourself,” (Cutting