On self harm

TRIGGER WARNING: SELF HARM, SUICIDE.

As well as defining self-harm in terms of the act of damaging the body, it may be accurate to define it in terms of the intent, and the emotional distress that the person is attempting to deal with. The phrase 'self-harm' brings up thoughts of 'cutting', but that's only a small portion of it, the number of self-harm methods is only limited by an individual's inventiveness and determination to harm themselves, includes: burning, self-poisoning, abusing alcohol or prescription drugs, scratching oneself to the point of bleeding, intentional hair pulling, starving oneself or binge eating, intentional sleep deprivation or oversleeping. When you do one or more of these acts you have self-harmed because you're pushing your body further than it can go.

“Being cut off from our own natural self-compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer. Along with our ability to feel our own pain go our best hopes for healing, dignity, and love. What seems nonadaptive and self-harming in the present was, at some point in our lives, an adaptation to help us endure what we then had to go through. If people are addicted to self-soothing behaviors, it’s only because in their formative years they did not receive the soothing they needed. Such understanding helps delete toxic self-judgment on the past and supports responsibility for the now. Hence the need for compassionate self-inquiry.”Gabor Maté

Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviors may be potentially life-threatening. The motivation for self-harm varies, some use it as a coping mechanism to provide temporary relief from intense feelings such as anxiety, stress, depression, emotional numbness, or a sense of failure. The act of self-harm can become psychologically addictive because, to the self-harmer, it enables them to deal with intense stress in the current moment.

You need to start treating yourself how you deserve to be treated, even if you feel that no one else does. Prove to the world you ARE worth something by treating yourself with the utmost respect and hope that other people will follow your example. And even if they don't, at least one person in the world is treating you well: YOU.