What is SI?
The forms and severity of self-injury can vary, although the most commonly-seen behavior is cutting, burning, and head-banging.
Other forms of self-injurious behavior include:
- carving
- scratching
- branding
- marking
- burning/abrasions
- biting
- bruising
- hitting
- picking/pulling skin and hair
It's not self-injury if the primary purpose is:
- sexual gratification
- body decoration (e.g., body piercing, tattooing)
- spiritual enlightenment via ritual
- fitting in or being cool
...Why...
- Regulate strong emotions. If you are experiencing high stress, self-harm can—temporarily—calm your nerves.
- Distract yourself from emotional pain. You may feel emotionally “numbed” by past traumas and need a way to force yourself into feeling something.
- Express things that cannot be put into words. Self-harm may be the only way you know how to display anger or deep sadness.
- Exert a sense of control over your body. You may imagine that hurting yourself will prevent something worse from happening.
- Self-punish or express self-hate. You may have a childhood history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and erroneously blame yourself for it. Self-harm can be a way to punish yourself.
- Self-soothe. You may not know any other means to calm intense emotions.
...Who...
Although everyone’s story is unique, if you cut or self-harm, chances are you have certain emotional issues in common with other self-harmers.
- Magical thinking. You may believe that your physical wounds prove your emotional pain is real, or that if you harm yourself, no greater harm will come to you.
- Growing up in a family where emotions weren’t allowed. You may have been discouraged from expressions of anger while growing up, and as a result be unsure what to do with strong feelings.
- Other emotional problems. You may have co-existing problems with obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse, depression, or an eating disorder—all conditions primarily about control.
- Limited support. You may have a limited social support network, perhaps due to family breakdown or shame about your self-harm
