A variety of emotions can be triggered by the concept of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), often known as self-harm. When they observe a loved one or someone they care about participating in NSSI, it's frequently poorly understood and can make them feel angry or upset.

Some people react with anger, despair, or irritation when they learn that someone has engaged in non-suicidal self-injury, while others choose to ignore the situation entirely in the hopes that it will be a "phase" and pass.

Sometimes individuals want to know more or enquire about it, but they are afraid to because they might make matters worse, they are concerned that they won't be able to manage it, or they are ill-prepared in case the conversation turns sour. Gaining more knowledge about non-suicidal self-injury can be a good starting point for learning how to react when someone you care about engages in NSSI.

Self-harm may be a mental health disorder's initial symptom. The most common personality condition with which it is connected is borderline personality disorder (BPD), commonly referred to as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD). Self-harm can, however, be a symptom of a variety of other mental health disorders. These consist of:

Depression

Panic disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Eating disorders

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs)

The most common signs and forms of self-harm are:

Cigarette burning

Scratching

Picking

Hair pulling 

Using a sharp object to sever the skin

Striking or crashing against body parts

Swallowing things or dangerous materials

Who self-harms?

About 1 in 10 admissions to UK medical wards are thought to be the result of self-harm. Self-harming is known to happen in younger children as well as older adults, despite the fact that it is most frequently connected to angst-ridden adolescents. Although it can happen at any age, elderly people are more prone to miss it.

Although it is acknowledged that young individuals, typically between the ages of 12 and 24, are the group that self-harm most frequently, it is still crucial to keep an open mind and realize that anyone who presents with an atypical mental state or an injury could be self-harming.

Why do people self-harm?

Labelling self-harm as attention-seeking is hazardous and invalidating. While some people who self-harm may do it to express their distress, there are a variety of other reasons why they would do so. To assist them in feeling when they are emotionally numb; to divert themselves from the emotional agony they are experiencing; to manage their emotions; to punish themselves, or to disfigure themselves are some of these motives. It's important to note that self-harm is not intended as a means of suicide. However, persons who self-harm have a higher risk of dying by suicide, and this risk rises as they have more episodes of self-harm. These factors make such activity extremely dangerous and should not be mistaken for attention-seeking.

Recognizing the causes of self-harm

For psychiatric assessments to be successful, it is essential to comprehend why people injure themselves. When the self-harmer is still in a disturbed emotional state, this may be challenging to accomplish. The patient may become hostile if you try to probe or question them too deeply or too fast. Because of this, it might be less probable that a thorough risk assessment will be carried out in order to develop an effective treatment strategy.

It's crucial to take their motive into account while trying to understand why someone self-harms. Self-harm triggers could include:

Coping strategy to ease uncomfortable emotions

Managing emotional suffering

An endeavor to emerge from a state of emotional numbness or a dissociative state

Making other people feel bad

Alcohol has the potential to be disinhibiting, and many people who self-harm do so under influence of Alcohol.

While self-harm might help some people come out of a dissociative state and back into reality, it can also help some people avoid and remove themselves from emotional suffering that they find difficult to cope with in healthy ways. They may break free from that situation, if only momentarily because the physical agony outweighs the mental pain.

One of the psychopharmacological ways that self-harm might alter inner thoughts is that, as we know, our brain chemistry alters in reaction to physical pain; opioids are released.

Treatment 

It's critical that those who self-harm get treatment to lessen their distress; typically, this comes from a psychiatrist. You might find it helpful to be aware of some of the typical, doable strategies that counsellors employ when dealing with self-harm. These consist of:

Collaborating with the young person to put up obstacles to self-harm, such as removing objects from the space where they practice DSH or limiting their alone time

Figuring out the function of the DSH so that a different behaviour can be used in its place. For instance, high-intensity exercise may serve as a substitute if the behaviour causes a physical distraction.

A counsellor will often work to create a variety of personally relevant strategies for each client. ensuring the existence of a safety plan to assist the young person in times of difficulty.