People self-injure for all sorts of reasons, but often it is because feelings like anger, sadness and fear have become too painful to deal with.

Sometimes people self injure because of pressure and stress from things like relationships, family problems, school, sexual worries or as a way of dealing with distressing situations like abuse or the death of someone close.

The reasons why people self-injure vary from person to person and won’t be the same for everyone. Some of the reasons might include:

• Dealing with high emotional pain and making it more bearable
• Expressing pent-up feelings such as anger and self-hatred
• Making yourself feel alive and present in the moment
• Preventing your suicidal thoughts from becoming overpowering
• Giving into urges due to stressful and high intense negative situations (e.g. difficulties at home)
• Feeling like you have no other option

No one reason is more valid than the other. Everyone who self-injures is going through a struggle of their own.

To start understanding why you self-injure and what you get from doing it, you could try asking yourself some of the questions in the resource below or visiting our page on Why Does It Happen?:

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'Reasons for self-injury'

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If you are feeling confused and would like to learn more, visit our self-help information and resources page.

You can also contact our support services for confidential, non-judgemental support around self-injury and related issues. Open Tuesday & Thursday, 7pm - 9.30pm.