Self-harm is when you hurt yourself on purpose. This includes, swallowing harmful chemicals, cutting yourself, overdosing and many more.
One of the most common forms of self-harm is cutting. A lot of people get judged for self-harming, because they apparently want attention. This is just a stereotype. Some people do self-harm for attention, but not everyone. Most people self-harm as a form of escape, or to show they have feelings, or to show how they feel
on the inside on the outside. Not many people
understand cutting and they think it's stupid. They don't
understand how addictive cutting is, once you start it becomes a sort of painkiller, a way to release the pain you're feeling inside. Also don't say to someone who cuts that it's for attention. If someone walks around with their scars showing it could mean they want attention, or it could mean that they aren't afraid to show people that they had cut... Sometimes it means that they want people to like them mistakes and all. I know all of this because I cut myself for two years. I managed to stop after telling my parents. It's a hard thing to stop once you've started, it's very addictive. If you know someone who cuts themselves just be there for them, if they want to talk about it let them ramble on until they've gotten it all out; that way they won't feel like no-one's listening. Make sure they know that you care because it always helps knowing that someone is there for you
