Note from the Editor:
This article was written for the SDC by psychologist and member @Jan A. Jan A. works part-time, taking on clients under the Medicare Mental Health Care Plans. She works with people of all ages, from children to seniors!

CONTENT WARNING: Please be aware that this article deals with a distressing matter. It may be upsetting to some readers. If you proceed, please do so with caution.

Self-harm has a range of causes. The self-harm (primarily, self-cutting) referred to in this article is not the same as an attempt at suicide, although the injuries could be unintentionally fatal.

The cause I will mostly feature in this article arises from severe emotional pain associated with trauma, especially early childhood events that had a negative impact on the child’s emotional development.



Self-harm is more often found in women than in men. Men more often tend to respond to negative events by using drugs or alcohol. Women more often tend to self-injure, especially cutting their arms, legs, chest or abdominal area. This division is not absolute, as men may self-harm and women may use drugs or alcohol to cope.



The most well-known form of self-harm occurs amongst young women from their teenage years to their twenties. However, self-harm can be found at any age, although it would be expected more in younger people rather than older people.

Younger people face rapid changes in their lives, including expectations from authority figures about them taking adult responsibilities, facing issues of sexual identity, educational pressures, choosing a career path and becoming independent.

For some, the changes are overwhelming, and they turn to self-harm as an emotional escape.

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