Understanding Self Harm
What Causes Self Harm?
Self harm can be caused by many things. It may be a mental illness like depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, or anxiety. It can also be caused by what the victim has gone through or is dealing with, like abuse or loss. The victim will probably have very high levels of stress. Self harm is usually a coping mechanism, so the victim is most likely taking on a lot at that moment in their life that they don't know how to cope with or they feel its too much to cope with.
Who it Affects
Self harm can affect anyone. People of all genders, races and sexualities can become a victim of self harm. A sterotype about self harmers are that they are always "emo" or "goth" and they do it to feel more accepted in their group of peers. But that is untrue. People who are labeled as "normal" by society can become victims of self harm, and they do. Another stereotype is that self harming, especially in the form of cutting, is some sort of trend and people start to believe it is cool or something to be thought of as beautiful or attractive, so some may believe that "normal" people do it because they think they will become more interesting or "cool" or people think they do it because their friends do it.