Can self harm be considered a coping mechanism?

There is always a reason why someone starts self harming - in most cases youc an say it works as a coping mechanism, some people can't deal with, or express stress, anger or other negative feelings and find help in self harm. That's why it's hard for self harmers to stop, there is a reason why they do it and one has to find another way to deal with those feelings.

It is a coping mechanism. However, it is a bad one. Harming yourself helps in the short term, but in the long term it is destructive.

It is a coping mechanism because you are using self-harm to repress or express an emotion that is difficult to process. But it is a temporary and dangerous way to cope. While other coping activities might seem almost impossible to do during a time of distress (ex: call a friend, paint your nails, go for a walk), give the activities a chance. It can help more than you know.

I used to think self harm was a coping mechanism, but it wasn't a good one. I feel like self harm is basically like drinking or doing drugs to cope. We are still inevitably harming our bodies and the problem still lingers in the back of our minds. I think a coping mechanism can be either negative or positive. We just choose which ones we should use.

Yes, some people consider self harm to be a coping skill. It is not a very healthy coping skill and I believe those that self harm should begin seeking more effective coping skills.

It can be, but it shouldn't be. It's not healthy for the obvious reasons of infection and scarring.