Self harm

Self-harm commonly comes hand in hand with having difficulties such as low mood, anxiety or depression. Often, individuals who self-harm will do this with the belief that it will help to cope with difficult feelings being experienced; as a form of ‘release’ or soothing. This strategy is form of coping can be seen as a temporary distraction which brings medium to longer term problems beyond the harm itself to include feelings of guilt, shame, low self-esteem, increased low mood and ruminative thinking. Self-harming can range from things such as scratching and hitting oneself to cutting oneself with implements such as knives or scissors. Engaging in self-harm can, on occasions, also result in harms that are more severe than what they were meant to be including (in rare cases) death.