What is Self-Harm?
Self harm affects people of all ages and genders. There is no such thing as an archetypal person who self harms. Research does however indicate that young people are most at risk, and that approximately 1 in 6 young people in Scotland have self-harmed, and this is thought to be a low estimate of the real figures.
The reasons why a person self harms are unique to each individual. Self harm is an expression of a person’s feeling of stress, anger, frustration, shame, being “at a loss”, or other feelings of distress. Self harm is often a response to an underlying problem and is often described as a way of coping with associated distress.
Stereotypes of Self-Harm
There is often a perceived perception of what someone who self-harms looks like. As mentioned above, self-harm can take many different forms and can affect anyone of any age, gender, religion or race. The type of self-harm is not always the most important factor for someone who self-harms, but instead it is the function (what they get from the act) that helps them to cope with their distress.
Please see below our peer practitioners Shona, Nic and Cha to explain more.
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