What is self-harm?

In the below video clip, service users describe why they self-harm.

You can also view a transcript (PDF).

This clip is reproduced with permission from Harmless and is taken from the DVD Harmless: Out of Harm’s Way. For more information on Harmless please visit their website.

People self-harm for all kinds of reasons. The following quotes are from two service users who describe some of the reasons why they self-harm

Service User One:

“Pain works. Pain heals. If I had never cut myself I probably wouldn’t still be around today… Don’t get me wrong, not in a heartbeat do I think that self-harm is a good or positive thing, or anything besides a heart-breaking desperate act that saddens me every time I hear about it. But there is a reason why people do it.”

Service User Two:

“I don’t deal with daily stress well, so when extra events occur however big or small, my tension levels rise, resulting in my needing a ‘release’. Self-harm has proven to be the most successful in dealing with this.”

(quotes taken from a paper by Smith, Cox and Saradjian, 1998)