Self-harm

Overt self-harm includes people formally cutting themselves. Covert self-harm is more insiduous and includes people drinking themselves to harm, or over-eating or excessive smoking or partaking in other dangeroous and risky behaviour with due caution.

Self-harm caused by self-mutilation is usually an attempt at distraction from psychological pain. Pain focuses the mind wonderfully so by making small superficial cuts the mind is drawn away from larger psychological problems it doesn't know how to deal with towards more specific problems that can occupy its attention.

Sometimes self-mutiliation can be inflicted from a sense of self-punishment whereby the individual feels they deserve to suffer in some way for some real or imagined transgression on their part.

Self-harm caused by excessive behaviours is symptomatic of a larger sense of failing to value one's welfare and oneself in general.

Recommended therapies: psychological and psychotherapies

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