Self-Harm and Suicide
What is self-harm?
Self-harm is the tendency to hurt oneself physically without intent to die. Self-harm is often hiding a great amount of suffering and may be a method of dealing with it.
How to recognize self-harm
Self-harm can take many forms:
- Cutting oneself with a sharp object;
- Take more medication than the recommended dose;
- Burning one’s skin;
- Hitting oneself with fists or another object;
- Hitting walls or objects to hurt oneself;
- Scratching or pinching one’s skin to the point of wounding oneself;
- Pulling out one’s hair;
- Not allowing wounds to heal.
What causes people to harm themselves?
Different people self-harm for different reasons. The most common reasons people may self-harm are:
- To reduce stress or anxiety;
- To be able to feel their emotions or feel alive;
- To relieve emotional suffering;
- To feel some level of control of their situation or their body.
Even if self-harm isn’t meant to take a person’s life, it still has risks: infection or physical complications, permanent scarring, serious wounds, or even death.
You self-harm and have suicidal thoughts?
Self-harm is often linked to high levels of distress. For some people, this suffering can be accompanied by suicidal thoughts. If that is your case, it’s important for you to talk about it.
We encourage you to visit the following sections:
01 Taking stock of your mental health
The first step toward taking back control is identifying what’s causing your suicidal thoughts.
02
Taking care of yourself
There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself and regain your balance when you’re having suicidal thoughts.
03 Talking about it with your loved ones
Asking for help from your family and friends isn’t always easy. There are different ways of going about it.
04 Finding support services
Every day, all sorts of people contact support services to get the help they need.
What to do if you self-harm?
It’s possible to stop self-harming. If you have a tendency to self-harm, first call 811 option 2, Info-Social, to talk to a social worker about what you are going through and be referred to local resources that can help support you as needed.
To obtain an assessment or a follow-up with a mental health professional, speak to a general practitioner (such as a family doctor), a psychologist or contact your local CLSC.
Other resources can also help people who self-harm.
Some tips to help you if you self-harm
What I'm going through...
- Alcohol or drug addiction
- Anxiety disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Breakup
- Bullying
- Burnout
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Financial problems
- Gambling addiction
- Grief and loss
- Insomnia
- Internet addiction
- Interpersonal problems
- Legal problems
- Loneliness and isolation
- Loss of autonomy
- Panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Posttraumatic stress
- Schizophrenia
- Self-harm
- Violence
