self-harm is (but not limited to):
• making yourself sleep deprived • making yourself cold (not wearing warm clothes in the winter, sleeping without a blanket etc) • not eating • not drinking • eating too much • not looking before crossing the street • scratching • letting your skin be dry & break easily • picking at skin • over-exercising • substance abuse • over-working yourself • making yourself go out and do things even though you’re exhausted • putting yourself in anxiety-inducing situations (even if you have a choice to stay out of them) • triggering yourself • purposefully angering someone who you know will yell at you • entering relationships you don’t want to be in/being around people you don’t want to be around • having sex when you don’t want to • setting yourself punishments • not giving yourself time • not letting yourself spend time with the people you love & know will be good to you
stop assuming that self-harm is visible and easy to notice.
Oh my goodness I actually didn’t know that a lot of things on this list counted as self harm. Like I will do a lot of those when I’m upset or angry at myself, but I’ll just frame it in my head as “not doing nice stuff for myself because I don’t deserve it” instead of “not doing really important things like eating because I’m angry/sad/scared and want to be self-destructive”
Thanks very much for this, this is something I need to remember when I’m struggling.
People need to know this
