Why Do People Self-Harm?: Self-harm (also called self-injury or non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)) is usually a sign of intense anxiety and depression or distress. People deliberately self-harm for lots of reasons: to use physical pain to express or numb emotional pain, distract or punish themselves, feel pleasure or a sense of control, or feel anything at all.
Generally, people who self-harm will often try to hide their behaviour and conceal their self-harm scars from others.
How to stop self-harming?: If you self-harm, you may have complex feelings about your actions: confusion, relief, shame, guilt. If self-harming is helping you to cope with a difficult situation (self-harming for some might momentarily make them feel better), you may even feel proud or resilient. A therapist will provide a space for you to start working on raising your low-self-esteem and to express yourself without fear of judgement.
How therapy & counselling can help: For some people who self-harm the desire to hurt themselves can feel like something that they can’t seem to stop doing. Therapy may help a client find ways to understand their emotions, practice self-compassion, and gradually reduce their self-harming cycle and express their feelings in other, more positive ways.
