Dealing with Obscure Forms of Self Harm (Triggers inside)
Hey, all! I'm Carina, and I think I may be 7 Cups' psych journal junkie. Basically, I've suffered with countless self injury disorders and have taken it upon myself to educate myself on the topics. We often look at cutting and eating disorders as the largest forms of self-harm. At least, those are the ones most glorified by the media. We don't really see much else in today's pop culture because society doesn't think it's a problem. However, there is a larger phenomena of self-harm occurring, and more obscure techniques are emerging. Some are listed below. This may be a trigger for some. Please do not attempt these yourself.
-trichotillomania, the constant need to pull out one's hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows
-dermatillomania, the constant need to pick at one's skin or nails
-burning, which is self explanatory
-self-hitting, which is the compulsion to beat up one's own body
-consumption of harmful/inedible materials. This can be something as simple as paper, something the body can't ingest properly, to something as severe as poisonous cleaning solutions
-binging, whether it be food, drugs, or alcohol
All of these things are really harmful, and they aren't often brought to the light. I personally suffer from trichotillomania and dermatillomania, as well as a slew of other anxiety issues. However, you can't let your illness define you. Coping with self harm is something difficult and scary, especially when the form you suffer from is never really addressed. Just know you're not alone when you're feeling down.
It's 7 years since i start self harming, which i do by cutting or scratching. During this 7 years i stopped cutting for some months a few times andi've been so angry at myself the last few months because i relapsed again, but i now realized, reading this post, i never actually stopped.
during those monthsi didn't cut i still binged or starved, and i would usually go around and thinking about the people i saw on the streets going up to me and hitting me, wishing they did it, but never doing it myself.
i don't really know how to feel now, realizing i've been hurting myself in these other ways, and actually NEVER stopped self harming
This sounds so much like my sister she has been self harmingf for years she is getting ECT now but has had it before she just can't stop.she is needing stitches ands staples nearly every day and I'm worried about how this is going to end😞
It's 7 years since i start self harming, which i do by cutting or scratching. During this 7 years i stopped cutting for some months a few times andi've been so angry at myself the last few months because i relapsed again, but i now realized, reading this post, i never actually stopped.
during those monthsi didn't cut i still binged or starved, and i would usually go around and thinking about the people i saw on the streets going up to me and hitting me, wishing they did it, but never doing it myself.
i don't really know how to feel now, realizing i've been hurting myself in these other ways, and actually NEVER stopped self harming
Don't be too hard on yourself about it. I thought I went, ironic to your story, 7 years without self-harm. But in retrospect I never stopped either. Once in awhile I'd beat up a punching bag, lying to myself that it was healthy coping when I knew it wasn't if I left my hands unprotected (wrapped up, andusingboxing gloves).Protecting my hands would have made it healthy coping, but I didn't. I knew I'd scrape my knuckles to hell, and I did. Other times I was so upset I would scream and beat my thighs like they were the person I hated. I couldn'tpunch others so I punched myself. They'd be sore and tender the next day. My ideaof self harm was cutting, so I stopped cutting. But I just foundways around it. You're not alone. Don't just try to quit self harm, try to replace it with something positive. Otherwise you'll only trade one form of hurting yourself for another.
Hi I have had trichotillomania for about 25 years now (im 40) i also have dermotollomania which is more recent. I was self hitting from about age 11. I binge and purge. I cut occasionally and also abuse medication from time to time. I was diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality - Borderline Type (formerly known as Borderline Personality Disorder) last month and I'm struggling with the diagnosis.
I feel able to share those things after chatting to @MikeMadrid I hope I have the courage to tell my therapist about the trichotillomania and dermotillomania in this week's session.
Thank you for being willing to share, I really do encourage you to tell your psychologist, and maybe tell a close friend when you feel ready.
Hi and thanks for a great thread! I have some pretty bad dermatillomania issues too, as well as some (thankfully) limited trichotillomania ones. It can be verydebilitating.I'm curious, has anyone here overcome their problems with any of those two? Thanks!
I struggle with dermatillomania too, as well as a little bit (thankfully) of trichotillomania. It can be quite debilitating. I wonder, is there anyone here that has successfully overcome either of these?
Hmm, weird. I posted that first comment yesterday, but it never showed up (no matter how long I waited and how many times I refreshed the site), so I thought that maybe it didn't go through.With the new comment I posted,I can now see that there are two posts and I didn't mean for that to happen. I can't find a way to delete the second one, but if anyone has the ability to do so - please, go ahead! This post can be deleted too, of course. Thanks!
Thank you so much for mentioningdermatillomania. This is how I self-harm, and I literally had my grandma say to me: "that's not proper self-harm, proper self-harm is cutting." I even started to doubt myself whether it is self-harming, although I would consider it such.
Thank you for acknowledging this, it makes me feel like I'm definitely not alone!
I never realized that my skin picking and pimple popping a) have a name and b) are an issue. They're both things I've done for as log as I can remember, especially skin picking, so much that the skin around my fingernails is scarred. I'll pick until I'm either satisfied or bleed, whichever comes first. It's the same with mycalloused big toes. It's not somethingthat's obvious to most people unless I'm caught in the act. Sometimes when I'm deep in thoughtI don't even realizeI'm picking. How should I mention this to my therapist? I don't want to comeacross as self-diagnosing or attentionseeking. Is this even a problem worth mentioning to her? I've been shut down in the past, not by her but by others. I'll think there's something wrong, and they don't take meseriously. Iguess it's hard to believe with the way Ipresent myself. I bottle my emotions up, refuse to cry in front of anyone, and always force a smile.
My mistakes are driving me nutty. *for as longas I can remember. And there's an extra space between realize andI'm picking.Okay, better now.
I know what you mean @SummerNights07. Those kinds of things bug me too!
I was diganoisedwith Asperger's syndrome ( a form of autism ) three years ago and have a history of selfharm but never knew it was classed as stimming .
I did the typical cutting with a pair of kitchen scissors. I'm 60 days clean now :) Woo Hoo! hahaI'm not sure ifpicking at my fingers is considered self harm. I think it's just abad habit of mine. I also used to starve myself. These are different waysof self harmI never thought would be put into this category. It's sad that people do these things to themselves 
Awwthat's amazing darling .... Iam sooPROUD of you . Stay strong fight on keep going and if you ever fall down I'll be their to pick you straight back up