When we talk about self-injury, we talk about an injury, usually through cutting, burning, or scratching. But self-injury is part of an umbrella term called self-harm, which encompasses any behavior done intentionally that results in harming the self, such as drinking alcohol, using drugs, or suffering from eating disorders.

There is no exhaustive list of self-harm, and sometimes self-harm can be very specific to a community. For example some athletes use excessive exercising as a form of self-harm¹. A participant I’ve interviewed for my article about self-harm in the LGBTQ+ community told me he had been consuming gluten despite having celiac disease to harm himself. British author Emma Forrest used make-up as a form of self-harm as a child, to deface herself and externalize her internal turmoil². A recent study has found an increase in “digital self-harm” among teenagers, which consists in anonymously posting or sharing harmful content about oneself, particularly among male homosexual teenagers³.

People use what is accessible to them, and normative methods of self-harm can evolve and differ through cultures and time. In the 19th century for example, some young women, called “needle girls”, pierced their skin with needles to cope with distress⁴. It’s important to keep an open mind about the form self-harm can take, as people who engage in less common forms of self-harm could risk not being detected and not receiving help. Instead of thinking about self-harm as specific methods, it might be more pertinent to think about the functions a behavior serves. The same behavior may not be classified as self-harm in two different individuals.

References

[1] Tyburski, L. (2023). Life Journeys: Can exercise be a form of self-harm? SANE. https://www.sane.org.uk/campaigning-media/news-and-comment/life-journeys-can-exercise-be-a-form-of-self-harm

[2] Forrest, E. (2024, May 26). ‘It was my gateway drug to self-harm’: a writer’s journey to finding the joy in makeup. The Guardian. Retrieved January 4, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/article/2024/may/26/it-was-my-gateway-drug-to-self-harm-a-writers-journey-to-finding-the-joy-in-makeup

[3] Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2024). Adolescent Digital Self-Harm Over Time: Prevalence and Perspectives. Journal of School Violence, 23(4), 542-554. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2024.2349566

[4] Gould, G. M., & Pyle, W. L. (1896). Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine.