On March 1st it is Self-Injury Awareness Day. This day is dedicated to self-harm worldwide. At Traumanet we also take a moment to reflect on this.
Self-harm means that someone intentionally hurts themselves, without the intention to end their own life. It is also called self-mutilation or self-harming. Behind self-harming behavior often lies much hidden pain.Â
Many people who harm themselves have traumatic experiences Experiencing and struggling with intense feelings and thoughts that can be overwhelming. Self-harm is therefore never isolated and always has a function. For example, it can be used to express anger, to reduce emotions, to reduce tension, or to experience control. Understanding the function of the behavior and the pain that underlies it is an important step towards recovery.
Self-harm as self-regulation
In the following webinar from the Centre for Sexual Violence (CSG), our editor-in-chief Anne Marsman was guest speaker with Iva Bicanic (clinical psychologist, professor of sexual abuse of children and director of knowledge development at the CSG). In the webinar, Anne (starting at 08:20 min) explains how traumatic experiences can disrupt the stress system and how self-harm can be a form of self-regulation. She discusses, among other things:
- How the nervous system can be disrupted after traumatic experiences
- Of Window of ToleranceHyperarousal and hypoarousal
- The different functions of self-destructive behavior
- Why it is so important to understand the function(s)
- What helps to regulate tension and emotions in a different way
- Explanation of the Self-help environment of the Center for Sexual Violence
The focus of the webinar is on sexual abuse, but the explanation of traumatic stress, disruption, and self-destructive behavior is more broadly applicable to traumatic experiences in general.
Need more information or support for self-harm?
The Self-Harm Foundation is a low-threshold national organization of peers who have harmed themselves or their loved ones. For more information, see zelfbeschadiging.nl
