Is Self-harm A Warning Sign Of Suicide?

[Ayasha]

I'm actually scared to ask this but is self-harm a warning sign of suicide?

The thought scares me, actually. I used to cut when I was younger, not much and never near my wrists--I think it was a way to make me feel SOMETHING because I would get overwhelmed with everything.

I've hit walls to the point that I've put my hand in a brace multiple times (bad sprains, never broken). It's like every time I do this I feel like I deserve to be in pain.

I don't know, I guess I'm just trying to understand it all.

 

[piratelady]

I don't know that there is a clear cut answer to that question, I think it varies from person to person. I use self-harm to cope with the feelings. Without that I don't know how I would handle feeling overwhelmed. For some it is their way to deal so they don't feel the need to turn to suicide. For some, it may be a warning sign. I think we are all different.

 

[Ayasha]

Thanks, I guess I just worry that maybe deep down I'm suicidal. And yeah, there are many times where I just wish it would all end but those don't last very long.

I honestly think it's my way of coping. It's probably not the healthiest coping strategy but I have to do something, you know?

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

(((Ayasha))) I self-harm when the emotional pain gets so intense that I have to DO something physically painful to 'contain' the emotional pain...if that makes sense. I would rather feel physical pain than emotional pain any day. I never do anything that 'shows'...I hide my pain well.

I don't think it is a warning of suicide. I think it is a way of coping with intense emotional pain that is so overwhelming that it 'over-flows' into needing to cause myself physical pain. For me, anger is always a factor. It does not happen frequently, as I have learned other coping mechanisms.

Talking to someone, even about something mundane can help me. I just tell them "talk to me"...and that will usually bring me down to a more manageable state. Coming here, and writing your feelings out can quite possibly help.

:hug:

 

[Abstract]

I dont think it needs to have anything to do with suicide at all. I think it can but from what I know it mostly doesnt.

They talk about "emotion regulation" which just means its a way of controlling intense emotions. For me it at times is a way of avoiding SU. It has also been an expression of intense self hatred. And some other stuff I cant speak about.

I think it can mean many things to different people. Whatever it is though it is a sign of very deep emotional pain and distress and I am sorry that you do it.

 

[Mary Black]

I've read about self-harm and my ex-husband was a self-harmer. It's usually not so much a suicidal impulse that drives the habitual cutting of the self. It's more of a stress release. I favor the theory that it is about finding comfort in the pain as one has a familial background of pain; the self-harmer has become conditioned to find pain comforting. Also, there is a release of endorphins--a rush of feel-good hormones--that occurs when one cuts or does the like.

 

[mamachick]

I dont think it is necessarily a sign of suicide to follow, although it can be. I think you have to consider what purpose it serves, as many others have posted own experience.

When you say self harm, I tend to think of behaviors such as cutting. But there are so many others, drinking, drugging, taking more than prescribed, permiscuity, bulemia, etc.

For me, negative messages take over prior to harmful behavior. When someone has been abused for years, and the abuser is removed from the picture, sometimes the person has a tendency to abuse themselves.

 

[Abstract]

And what Mary Black said!

 

[Ayasha]

When someone has been abused for years, and the abuser is removed from the picture, sometimes the person has a tendency to abuse themselves.

I think I had suppressed the memories so much that I didn't even know why I would hit walls or cut until over the past year, now I'm working to stop cutting (2 weeks and I've not cut or hit anything).

Thank you guys, this is reassuring.

 

[Chrissyy]

I don't think it's a warning sign of suicide for most people. I think there's a higher risk of suicide in people that self harm than people that don't, purely because before someone actually goes to commit suicide they try everything else first.

 

[Orglethorp]

I think there's a big misconception about the relationship between SI and suicide these days. Most people who self harm, myself included, use it as a coping mechanism. By definition, that means that SI is a way to keep on living. I'll be the first to admit that it's not a healthy thing to do, but it most certainly does not mean that someone who does or has committed SI is doomed to eventually commit suicide.

That being said, if you ever find yourself seriously considering suicide (rather than worrying about it), talk to someone!

 

[Ayasha]

Yeah, this is something I'm still struggling very much with because some people DO think I'm suicidal when I'm not. I just don't know what else to do.

I'm working to replace the behaviors with much healthier coping because something my counselor and I have been talking about is that I don't deserve to hurt... I've actually started telling myself that no one has the right to hurt me, not even me, which is working when I'm angry at myself and get overwhelmed.

For feeling numb from dissociation, they told me to hold a piece of ice in my hand until it melts all the way, I haven't tried this yet so I'm curious if anyone else has.