Self-harming usually occurs alongside other mental health conditions and is a way that an individual hurts themselves to help deal with painful memories and feelings that they experience or situations that they find overwhelming. It gives individuals a sense of control amongst all the chaos that they are experiencing inside their own bodies. It can also be used as a way to ensure that they feel something if they are experiencing episodes of disconnection from the world and within themselves.
There is usually another diagnosis that goes alongside self-harming. It is important for us all to be aware of the signs of mental ill-health, and attending Mental Health Training Courses like those from https://www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-courses can be a great way to do this.
Self-harming can include everything from starving yourself, drinking to excess, putting yourself in dangerous situations and cutting yourself. There are other self-harming traits that can include pulling your own hair out. It is a very specific condition that will affect individuals in different ways.
The severity of the harming activity that the individual undertakes can indicate other issues that are occurring. All self-harming activities carry an amount of risk, and this risk can vary between lower risk factors such as pulling hair that will result in bald patches over time through to more severe risk for those who cut themselves, which could lead to death.
It is important for individuals to get support for their self-harming as well as the underlying issues that are causing this behaviour.