I’m intimately acquainted with self-harm and have the scars and open sores to prove it. It’s a strange behaviour, one that’s hard to understand even when you engage in it. It’s hard to talk about and hard for the people in your life to “get”. It’s hard for them to know how to help and near impossible to say what you need.
My mom bought me a doll once. She wanted me to cut her instead of myself. It wouldn’t have worked: I would’ve felt guilty about harming her. Fixing things is more complicated than simple displacement.
This piece is an excellent introduction to the topic, if you’re connected, afflicted, or simply curious about self-harm.
Teen mental health and self harm: Understanding why.
Today, and over the next few weeks, I want to tackle an important mental health issue most common with teens: self-harm. Self-harm is a behaviour associated with mental health that is rarely talked about, but is actually quite common. Rates of self-harm in teenagers range from 14-39%. There are a lot of misconceptions and mystery […]
Teen mental health and self harm: Understanding why — Imagine Therapy
From Famine to Feast. 
Self harm can be a way to redirect mental pain. It is easier to have physical pain, and more acceptable too. When you have too much time for yourself, you dwell on your misery and mental pain increase. The pain is destructive. You need to make yourself busy.
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Distraction is definitely a technique that is helpful.
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