What? Non-suicidal self-injury is the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of any part of the body resulting in immediate damage, without suicidal intent and for the purpose of inflicting harm. Although most people think of cutting and carving when they talk about self-injury, there are other ways people hurt themselves, like scratching, burning, banging head or punching objects to break bones, embedding things in the skin, biting, pulling out hair, holding breath.
People frequently self-injure on areas of the body such as hands, arms, stomach and thighs and their injuries may be visible or hidden.
Why? For people who don’t self-injure, it can be very confusing to understand why a person would hurt themselves. Why cause pain intentionally? There are many reasons… there are just a few- sometimes the person who self-injures doesn’t know why they do it. To feel in control of their body or mind, to create a “rush” or to feel good, to cope with negative feelings or feelings of anxiety, to distract themselves, to relieve stress or pressure, to express their feelings, to cope with previous trauma, to punish themselves.
