Fourth Edition, September 2011

Self-Harm
Self-harm (or the offi
cial term, non-suicidal self-harm) is the deliberate attempt to harm oneself and in 
most cases, is done without conscious intent to commit suicide.
The most common type of non-suicidal self-harm behaviour is self-injury, which is the deliberate damag-
ing of one’s body.
Although cutting is the most common type of self-harm, the behaviour can also include self-poisoning, 
burning, scalding, and self-infl icted hitting. Young people engage in self-harm as a way of coping with 
problems and emotional distress.
What’s normal and what’s not?
Very little is known about self-harm behaviour, especially in young people. Many young people who harm 
themselves report that it provides a way to manage intolerable feelings such sadness, anxiety, or emo-
tional numbness. Once the behaviour is started, the endorphins – natural pain relieving substances pro-
duced in our bodies – can provide an additional stimulus to continue the behaviour.
How common is self-harm?
On average, self-injury behaviours start at age 15, and are most commonly seen in teenagers and young 
adults. In one study of Canadian youth aged 14-21, 17% were shown to have self-harmed, and the behav-
iour is twice as common in females (21%) than in males (8.7%)
Many adults worry that adolescents engage in self-injurious behaviour because of a positive social status 
connected with self-harm. Most young people report that they started the behaviour on their own, and 
had neither read nor known about self-harm behaviour before they started.
What causes self-harm problems
It is believed the people self-harm in order to cope or deal with some stress. Some of the underlying rea-
sons given include:

Getting relief from painful or distressing feelings

Dealing with feelings of numbness

Communicating pain or distress to others
All of these underlying reasons are actually quite healthy; it is just that the self-harm is an unhealthy way 
to achieve these goals.

---

Making a Diff erence: An Educators’ Guide to Child and Youth Mental Health Problems
www.cymhin.ca
G 2
Self-Harm