Self-harm is most often described to express or cope with emotional distress.
There are many possible causes of emotional distress. It’s often a build-up of many smaller things that leads people to think about self-harm.
Some examples include:
- being bullied;
- pressure at work or school;
- family arguments or relationship problems;
- money worries;
- struggling with life’s stresses;
- confusion about sexuality;
- physical or sexual abuse;
- being in contact with the criminal justice system;
- experiencing complex mental health difficulties that sometimes cause impulsive behaviour or difficulty controlling emotions, often due to past trauma;
- low self-esteem;
- grief, bereavement loss;
- anxiety, stress, depression.
There is evidence of a clear link between suicide and people who have previously self-harmed.
However, not everyone who self-harms want to end their life. Some people describe their self-harm as a way of staying alive by responding to or coping with severe emotional distress.
It’s important to find the underlying cause in a less harmful way and to try and resolve it. Counselling, therapy and diversionary activity can help.
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance misuse (including alcoholism, and the use of and withdrawal from heroin and benzodiazepines) are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as break ups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. conditions.
Symptoms tend to mirror those of depression, but some people are good at putting on a mask and some suicide attempts seem ‘out of the blue’.
We have several staff members trained in mental health First aid- to spot the signs of deteriorating mental health.
Suicidal thoughts
Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas, or the possibility of ending one’s life. It is not a diagnosis but is a symptom of some other condition and can also occur in response to adverse life events without the presence of a mental disorder.
On suicide risk scales, the range of suicidal ideation varies from fleeting thoughts to detailed planning. Passive suicidal ideation is thinking about not wanting to live or imagining being dead. Active suicidal ideation involves preparation to die by suicide or forming a plan to do so.
Suicidal ideation is associated with depression and other mood disorders; however, many other life events and family events can increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Mental health researchers indicate that healthcare systems should provide treatment for individuals with suicidal ideation, regardless of diagnosis, because of the risk for suicidal acts and repeated problems associated with suicidal thoughts.