Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Not Obvious Signs of Self Harm
- Who is prone to hurt themselves?
- Why does someone hurt themselves?
- 1. Divert attention
- 2. Relieving stress
- 3. Avoid numbness
- 4. Convey feelings
- 5. Punish yourself
- 6. Looking for satisfaction
- Where can I get help?
Medical Video: 5 Not Obvious Signs of Self Harm
If suicides have been widely reported, cases of self-injury have not received much attention in the community. Suicide is a direct result of death, disability, or serious injury. Meanwhile, the result of hurting yourself or self-injury usually covered up and cannot be seen in plain view.
People who hurt themselves cannot be distinguished from others at a glance. Even people you have known for years may hide the habit. This extreme action is carried out for various reasons. To understand why certain people choose to intentionally hurt themselves, see the following important information.
Who is prone to hurt themselves?
Although anyone can start the habit, there are some groups who are more vulnerable to doing so. Here are people who have high risk factors self-injury based on the number of cases encountered to date.
- Young women
- People with a history of physical, emotional, and sexual violence
- People with behavioral disorders such as alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
- People who have difficulty controlling or expressing emotions
- People who are raised in families who oppose anger
- People who do not have friends, family, or relatives who can be trusted
READ ALSO: Are You a Passive Aggressive Person? These are the characteristics
Why does someone hurt themselves?
Usually cases self-injury occurs when someone is facing a situation and feeling that is very difficult to pass. Although some people are aware that this action is dangerous and wrong, there are still many who do not realize that self-harm is not the best way to manage the events, feelings, or memory they store. They actually think that self-harm is the only way that can be taken. Here are some of the main reasons why they have such thoughts.
1. Divert attention
Sometimes people choose to hurt themselves because it can help them divert attention from things that make them overwhelmed or traumatized. When hit by various problems of life, the mind becomes very full and noisy with various problems and things that are negative. When busy slashing away or doing something similar that can cause pain or injury, a person can put out a moment of disturbing sounds in his mind. This is because the pain that was felt at that time could divert his mind from the problem at hand.
READ ALSO: 7 Psychological Reactions You Did in Negative Situations
2. Relieving stress
When faced with a situation that is so stressful, everyone has different ways to vent the anxiety or tension. Some have switched to sports and hobbies, some have told the closest people, but some have actually hurt themselves. This is done so that he can issue all tendencies that are aggressive and cruel without having to hurt other people, pets, or damage the goods around him.
3. Avoid numbness
People who have severe psychological trauma can become numb. Because the event experienced is so painful or embarrassing, a person can experience dissociation. Dissociation is a condition in which you erase your memory of an event or remove the feeling that arises when experiencing a traumatic event. Usually this happens outside of your awareness.
When removing feelings for an event, for example in a rape case, the victim will not feel better. He would feel empty, empty, and worthless. By hurting yourself, he will recall the pain that attacked him when he was raped. The pain reminded him that he was still alive and could still feel something like other humans.
4. Convey feelings
Often people do self-injury don't really want to hurt yourself or commit suicide. However, they have problems communicating. They do not understand how to communicate negative feelings. It could be because telling someone else that he was feeling hurt made him look weak, maybe also because he had never learned to express his feelings at all.
Sometimes, these negative feelings are too strong to stem. As a result, the person chooses to hurt himself as a form of communication to others that he is going through difficult times and he needs help. Whether it's just listening to the story or helping him solve a problem. Usually he will intentionally give a signal or a clue to the person closest to him that he is carrying out this dangerous action. For example, allowing blood to spill in the room so that his parents knew he was hurting himself.
READ ALSO: Some of the Main Causes Someone Wants to Kill
5. Punish yourself
Victims of violence, whether emotional, physical or sexual, are often blamed and demeaned. Unconsciously, they too gradually felt inferior and deserved blame. In his mind, every mistake he made must be punished, even when the perpetrators of violence do not know the mistake. As a form of punishment, some people will hurt themselves by deliberately not eating, banging their heads, or cutting themselves off.
READ ALSO: 8 Physical and Mental Trauma Due to Sexual Violence
6. Looking for satisfaction
Similar to people who are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs, those who often hurt themselves do so to seek satisfaction. Some people feel happy and excited after seeing their own blood or feeling a very strong physical sensation. This wrong view can lead to addiction.
Where can I get help?
If you have a tendency or have hurt yourself, immediately tell the closest person you can trust. If your condition doesn't improve, you can see a psychologist or psychiatrist who will help you control the habit. When thoughts arise to do self-injury, immediately contact the official hotline service from the Indonesian Ministry of Health at 500-454. If you or the person closest to you is injured self-injury, immediately call emergency services at number 118 or go to the nearest health center.
READ ALSO: List of Emergency Telephone Numbers You Must Record
