What is Self Injury?
Self injury, also referred to as self mutilation, self harm, bodily harm, si, or self induced pain, is commonly called the new age anorexia.
People who self injure cut or burn their skin, punch or hit themselves, overdose mildly on pills, pull their hair or any other form of hurting oneself.
When they hurt themselves, it makes them feel better for a period of time. A lot have been abused as children, and their is also an eating disorder connection.
A triggering moment can be caused by not feeling "real", anger towards oneself, feeling like you have to be punished, extreme sadness, a memory, a flashback, or even something like a bad grade. Self injury usually starts in early adolescence, but can also start earlier or later.
Unlike a lot of other mental ilnesses, self injury leaves physical scars. This is one of the hardest things to deal with when someone stops hurting themselves. People ask questions, and it's hard to know whether or not you can trust them to tell the truth, or if you are ready to say what really happened. If anyone has anything to share about the way that they have dealt with one of these moments... you can email me. My address is at the bottom of the page.
Email: si_struggle@hotmail.com