Usually people believe that people who do self harm are teenagers who come from abused households or think that people who self harm do it and their lives. There are many stereotypes and false information out there about self harm that may create a false image of what it is.
This spread of misinformation can be damgerous and so it's important to realize and understand what is true sorrounding self harm
5 myths on self-harm
1. All self-harm is a suicidal attempt
Most people who engage in self-harm don't do it to end their life. The center for suicide prevention describes the difference between self-harm and suicide attempts according to frequency method severity and purpose, those who self-harm tend to do so more than those who are suicidal and their methods tend to be less lethal and less severe than a suicide attempt. Also the purpose of those who self-harm often has more to do with problems dealing with intense stressful emotion than to do with ending their lives. However these self-harming behaviors can set the stage for suicidal thinking once they think to start self-harm no longer an effective way to deal with their feelings.
2. Self-harm is attention-seeking and manipulative
Many people believe that peoole who do self-harm do so for attention. A study by Glenn Clerk and others in 2016 actually believe that self-harm behaviors may be the opposite of attention-seeking. They found that approximately only 50% of teenagers who engage in self-harm actually report it to someone they trust as attempt to call any attention
3. Only teenagers do self-harm
Most people think that those who self-harm are usually teenagers. A study by Fabian in 2018 found that up to 5.5 of all people who self-harm are adults. Mental health experts believes that this number may be even higher since many cases are not reported due to stigma that comes with self-harm. While it is true that many people begin to self-harm in their teenage years. These habits can continue on into adulthood until they've sought help from a mental health professional
4. You're probably being abused at home if you self-harm
Some people may believe that self-harm is a reaction to an abusive home life but this isn't always tru. According to mentalhealth.net, there are 6 basic reasons why they self-harm: it can be to distract themselves from their thought to release tension, to feel something other than numbness, express their feelings, to punish themselves or to feel a rush. Although abuse or neglect can definitely be a part of the reasons why someone self-harm, it can also be due to their circumstances problems processing their emotion.
5. All people who self-harm are cutters
Experts say that cutting is the most common method of self-harm but that's not the only way people self-injure. There are dofferent methods of self harms among which ibclude burning, hitting yourself, as well as banging your head. While cutting may be common, many people who self-harm are actually likely to use more than one method in engaging in self-harm.
Self-harm is the way for people to call for help and there are methods and treatments for it. One is treating depressions and enrolling to social groups.
This are facts of life, coupled with experience and experiments