SHing as a child?

[The_Princess]

Well i was reading part of a thread and someone wrote that they used to pinch/scratch themselves when they'd get frustrated. And then I realized, when I was younger, I used to bite the skin of my arm really hard (but not enough to break the skin, although I tried to) and come to think of it, I used to just hit myself sometimes or pull my hair. Does this count as self-harm? (I'd also like to hear when you guys started SHing)

[Le bonheur*]

I personally think that it's difficult to say if a child self-harms. Because as a child, we're just learning how to deal with anger and sometimes we do things (such as hitting, pinching, biting ourselves) without knowing that it's not the right way to cope with anger. Most of the time, if a child is told not to do it, they don't. However, I think that if a child continues harming themselves out of anger/sadness, then it could be self-harm. It all depends on the situation and how the child actually thinks.

As for me, I could've started as a young child but I don't really recall self-harming until I was 12 years old. I started because I was angry with my parents. I stopped 5 weeks ago.

[The_Princess]

Does an eraser burn count as self harm? Because I read on the internet that some people were doing it and i didnt believe it, but thought if it did work, it could be an alternative to cutting when I'm mad. So i did it, but not severely. It just left a weird red mark with some new skin forming over it, and it stung, and still kinda does.

[Le bonheur*]

Anything you do to intentionally harm yourself is counted as self-harm. I don't think rubbing an eraser on your skin is a healthy alternative since you're still hurting yourself, even if it isn't cutting. Here's a list of healthy alternatives.

[The_Princess]

Yeah, I've read those, and I know what they're trying to get at, but it seems to me like there's more to it than just self harm to me. It's always been more like a curiosity and a fascination. I never cut to the point of near fatality (although I've tried to go deeper), and it just intrigues me to see blood coming out of something I "made". Probably further signs of a severe mental illness.....

[Some Dude]

I started when I was 15

[Akito]

I agree with Brittany. If an action to harm oneself is done intentionally, then it becomes SH. I scratched constantly at my dry skin (I have eczema) when I was younger, but I didn't do it to injure myself, I did it because I did not know what else to do to make the itching stop. In that case, I would not call it SH.

[Le bonheur*]

So you're harming yourself because you're fascinated, not because you want to 'punish' yourself? My sister did this for a while. She called it art. But, it turned out there was unrevealed reasons as to why she was harming herself. I really don't know anything more or if it's a sign of another mental illness as you asked. Perhaps speak with a professional to find out?

[The_Princess]

That's one problem that I have. I'm deathly afraid of like therapists or anyone i would have to tell things like that to. Like today at church, they said that they would have a confession thing soon and I froze and like started freaking out!

[Total Light Storm]

Hi,
I think that I agree with what was said above, a child might or not be self harming and it's hard to tell if they are and depends on the situation.
I can say that when I was younger I used to chew my hair and I would bite the inside of my lipwhen I got angry or frustrated. This stopped when I moved where I live now but now I cut so I'm not sure if it was SH or not. I've never asked anyone and have not really thought about it but it could be a good idea to find out if it was SH in some way.
Yes, giving yourself an eraser burn does count as self harm because you are intentionally hurting yourself with the razor and therefore causing yourself harm because you leave a mark on your skin and cause yourself pain, or stinging.
I think that talking to a professional would be a great idea, it can be scary to think about doing that, but it can really help to talk to a therapist or counselor, they are trained on how to help people struggling with SH and on how to help people learn how to deal with what it is in there life that triggers them to hurt themselves.
I hope I have helped and you can PM me if you need to for advice or just to chat.

[The_Princess]

Originally Posted by Total Light Storm

Hi,
I think that I agree with what was said above, a child might or not be self harming and it's hard to tell if they are and depends on the situation.
I can say that when I was younger I used to chew my hair and I would bite the inside of my lipwhen I got angry or frustrated. This stopped when I moved where I live now but now I cut so I'm not sure if it was SH or not. I've never asked anyone and have not really thought about it but it could be a good idea to find out if it was SH in some way.
Yes, giving yourself an eraser burn does count as self harm because you are intentionally hurting yourself with the razor and therefore causing yourself harm because you leave a mark on your skin and cause yourself pain, or stinging.
I think that talking to a professional would be a great idea, it can be scary to think about doing that, but it can really help to talk to a therapist or counselor, they are trained on how to help people struggling with SH and on how to help people learn how to deal with what it is in there life that triggers them to hurt themselves.
I hope I have helped and you can PM me if you need to for advice or just to chat.

Thank you, and I will PM you if I ever need to talk.

[I'm-moving-on]

I think I would have to say that it would depend on the particular child and situation, like if they were SHing intentionally, to hurt themselves.

I started SHing half a year ago, when I was sixteen as I am now.

[StargazingDragon]

When I was little i would hold my skin to hot surfaces when I was sad. I didn't realise it was self-harming untill i started SHing 3 years ago.

[Kate*]

I used to do this when I was little too, mostly biting the back of my hand or arm or punching either myself or a nearby hard surface like the table I was working at or the wall next to me. When I got older I started scratching instead because I never did it hard enough to leave marks, where biting would leave marks/bruises.

As far as having a mental illness the best place to go is your doctor or a mental health professional. I did see on the SAVE website (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) that it can actually be a sign of depression in children, but of course I can't say whether you have that or anything else.

[Here.with.you]

I agree with brittney. It hard to say yourself harm when your little cause your still trying to learn how to deal with it. And I started when I was in 6th grade.

[MacGuffin]

Anything you do to intentionally cause yourself harm is self harm. So if biting yourself and hitting yourself and pulling your hair was done to intentionally harm yourself then yes, it could be self harm. But it needn't necessarily be.

I started self harming when I was nine. I don't really "count" it because in my mind it didn't cause anywhere near the extensive amount of damage I have caused since I was fifteen, but I was still self harming nonetheless.I don't really think about it, as it's in the past, but sometimes I can still get sad about it. But it alone doesn't make me who I am today, and it is not responsible for shaping the majority of my life. It was a sad thing, but to bemoan myself over it would only keep me from living my life to the fullest.

[7shay7]

actually i never even thought of this.... when i was in probably 3rd 4th grade i was scratch and pinch at my skin when i was upset. when i was younger then that i would bite as hard as i could and see how long the marks were there.