Self harm is any form of self injury through cutting or burning on the skin. It is important to bring awareness to self harm and break the stigma of why self harm occurs.

Anyone can fall into the trap of self injury, as this can take place through feelings of depression, anxiety or lack of control in life. When feeling anxious people can turn to self harm while experiencing an anxiety attack in order to calm themselves.

This action can unfortunately lead to addiction, as the feeling of control over the emotion can cause this maladaptive behavior to form. This occurs when power has been gained through self harm because now whenever feelings of anxiety appear self harm will be the first thought that comes to mind in order to soothe that anxiety. 

This can become dangerous as the secrecy of the action often takes place, the thrill of hiding and pretending becomes a mind game, which is followed by guilt and shame later on.The cycle of addiction starts and by that time it’s hard to break.

Self harm becomes harder to talk about especially with loved ones as you start to isolate yourself. But it’s never too late to ask for help and open up about your struggles.You matter and are needed. I encourage anyone who is struggling with self harm addiction to ask for help. It is so worth it and it does get better.