Is self harm only physical, or can you harm yourself emotionally as well?

Self harm can definitely be emotional in nature. Over thinking things, or wallowing in self deprecating emotions of guilt or worthlessness, can cause just as much damage, if not more, than the prick of a blade. A cut can be seen, and so when the wound is fresh one can gauge its depth and severity, and watch it heal. Self inflicted emotional pain cannot be seen, so one can neither gauge how deep the wound runs, nor can you be sure it is healing. Sometimes it is easy to slip into a phase of not wanting to heal, and subconsciously one can keep aggravating their pain, deriving from it the same pleasure as a physical wound.

Self-harm is often thought of as only physical (i.e., cutting, burning, etc.), but self-harm can also be emotional. Self-harm is just that, harming the self. Anything you do to intentionally make yourself hurt for reasons that are not socially acceptable, can be viewed as self-harm. Some emotional things people do that may be classified as self-harm are: staying in an emotionally-unstable relationship and purposefully doing things that you know may make you feel sad, upset, or depressed (this does not include schoolwork, home chores, or going to ballet practice, but may include things like revisiting old events that upset you, such as bullying or abuse).

Self harm is a conduit for release from emotional stress. It makes you feel better in the short term, that's true. However it can cause emotional damage because you become addicted to the relief that the harm brings you and then you are stuck in a cycle.

Definitely! From my experience, sometimes, I imagine hurting myself, or someone I love hurting, and that really impacts me. Sometimes, I might even imagine scenarios that also might hurt me, such as the people I love hurting me. This can impact the relationships I have indirectly and my mental wellbeing.

Self harm is both physical and mental. Any form of putting yourself down can honestly be considered self-harm, but certain statements, such as "I don't deserve to be alive", etc, are harmful emotionally. Also, physical self-harm is harmful emotionally as well.

Typically, when describing oneself as a 'self-harmer' or saying 'I self-harm' people mean that they inflict some form of immediate physical injury to themselves (cut, hit, burn, scratch, pick, break, bite...). It is with those things in mind that self-harm support communities are formed. However, you may also benefit from some of the coping skills taught through DBT and CBT which are often the focus on self-harm support groups if you hurt yourself in other ways (emotional, eating disorders, smoking, etc). However, it's not the best descriptor to say 'I self harm' when you aren't referring to an injury that is: physical, inflicted in a manner that causes immediate harm, and done with the purpose of altering an emotional state. That doesn't mean what you're going through and doing isn't serious and valid, it just means the term "self-harm" isn't the most accurate term for your situation. You might find terms like: negative self talk, self-hate, self-abuse, or the like a more fitting word/phrase to describe your experiences in ways others will understand.

I think that you can harm yourself emotionally as well, in ways such as telling yourself you aren't worth it. By breaking your confidence you can hurt yourself. Not loving yourself, or not standing up for yourself. Letting yourself get hurt. I think that you can both physically and emotionally harm yourself.

I was reading an article based sort of around this idea and if you are intentionally breaking skin then it is self harm but if you are just hurting yourself emotionally then it is self damaging or something like that (I think that was the word but not sure) anyway, it is still harmful but in a different way to self harm.

Emotional harm can be from calling yourself names to saying no one wants you around. Physical and emotional pain can hurt plenty equal

Self harm is both physical and emotional. For example, if I kept repeating to myself in my head, "you're worthless, you're stupid," it would be considered self harm. You are poisoning yourself with harmful ideas to your self esteem that are not true and could potentially be life threatening to yourself in the long run.