Page 188 - Under the Cover of Darkness

similar lines might be a young person who has been
continually brow beaten & mentally abused by their
parents which results in them having a deep sense of
worthlessness. They punish themselves with physical pain
in a confused mixture of acknowledging their
worthlessness and as a barrier against the pain inflicted
upon them by the abusers. The pain caused to them by
the abusers becomes lesser by default. The abuser loses
the pain inflicting game.
NUMBNESS: Some of the examples mentioned have
described how people use self-harm as a way of coping
with feelings that are unbearably intense. This can also
work the other way round. At times when people have
mental illness, substance misuse problems (and perhaps
for other reasons), they actually lose feeling. They
describe feeling physically and emotionally numb. A
blank, unconnected sense that nothing is real or tangible.
In these cases they self-harm as a way to break the ice of
numbness and feel something again.
This list is not exhaustive. There are several reasons listed
above as to why people self-harm. A person might
self-harm for one or a number of the reasons I’ve
outlined but of course, there are other reasons I haven’t
listed here. A more in depth examination of this subject
would take us back through history and into the realms
of religion, social & cultural issues… Also, a person who
does self-harm may not actually be consciously aware of,
or able to explain why they do it themselves. Hopefully
these points have helped you some way towards
understanding why people might self-harm but there are
a few other important points around this issue that are
worth mentioning…