First of all thank you everyone for reading, I'm getting close to 30,000 views so I'm thinking this is helping some of you. I worry that this blog can be triggering to some so please stop reading if it is triggering to you. Otherwise I'm not updating this blog anymore after today, or at least I'm taking a break to help myself. I do have another blog called Overcoming Self Injury so if you want to check that out please do.
I received a request from a reader who is writing a speech and asked if I could post information for them to use. They also asked where I get my information. What I did for this blog was research. I searched all over the internet for information on self injury, self esteem, body image, and scarring. I interviewed people over Facebook and they told me their stories. I also took a lot of my own experiences and used that in some of my posts. But I am in no way a medical doctor. I interpret this information in my own way to make it easier for people to understand this "disorder".
My definition of self injury is the act of purposely inflicting pain on ones self that will give some form of relief during a time of stress, anxiety, depression, etc...
Many people report not having a specific reason for as to why they do it. Yes, sometimes people do it for the attention but I don't like discussing that area since I know of no one who has done so. In most cases it begins as a result of some form of trauma, a interuption of daily life, psychiatric disorders.
Self injury is often a very private matter and is usually hidden under clothing and kept a secret. The most common parts of the body are the arms, legs, stomach, chest, and even genitals in some cases. It is easy to cut through a vein which could lead to death also cuts can become infected very easily.
Some people choose to seek out professional help while others try to deal with it on their own though I recommend medical help.
Self injury is NOT a sign of suicidal intent. It is instead a signal for help. That person may not say it but they wouldn't be doing it if they weren't struggling. They don't want to die (in most cases) but instead they want to live but being caught in self injury can give them a feeling of hopelessness and they do want to live again.
The number of self injurers are increasing every day. They cut, burn, pick, bruise, and starve. No two people are alike. They all have different stories, symptoms, coping methods.
Self injury is done by all genders, a wide range of age groups, races. Its an issue that needs more attention.
I hope this helps, also google some info, that should help!
