Stress as a Precursor to Self-Harm

I used to bite my hand when I was stressed out. Fortunately I don't have any residual marks or scars from it. I did this before I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar,the diagnosis and meds have helped me stop the biting. Staying away from and knowing the kinds of situations that put me under stress has also helped with that. I now also take my Klonopin when I know I'm going into an unknown or stressful situation. It really helps nip things in the bud.

I self harm. I have many scars on my body. I did it before my bipolar diagnosis and after. And am still doing it now. I do it when I'm stressed, sad, lonely. Right now I'm all alone during the day and very sad to be alone. I feel like I have nothing. I really appreciate you writing this and letting people know that they are not alone and that it can get better.
Michele

I have only recently relapsed into a self-harming stress induced state; I had messed up my meds and thus, I was unstable for approximately 6 weeks. During that time, I was being lied to by someone who I thought I could trust and this resulted in me cutting myself.
I have found, though, that when I am stressed and want to injure myself (since then) the best remedy for me is to stop, think about what the injury will do for me (temporary relief), and plot out what will really give me the relief I need... My ways for that are unconventional but they have worked thus far.

Hi Cindyaka,
Yes, correct diagnosis and treatment can certainly stop self-harming behaviors. When you're in more pain, you have more to harm about. Pretty simple there.
I don't generally advise a medication solution to stress because, well, that's a very contentious issue in the community, but that being said, that can be very effective for people. Congrats on finding a way that works for you.
- Natasha

Hi Michele,
I'm sorry to hear you're still self-harming. That's a pretty negative thing to have to live with.
But you're right, you're not alone and you _can_ get better. Every day just a little bit. People are there for you.
- Natasha

Hi Carey,
I think that's a great thing to do. That sounds like cognitive behavioral therapy at work to me. And if it works for you, that sounds great to me.
Thanks for sharing your technique.
- Natasha

About a year before my diagnosis I turned to self-harming as a coping strategy for the crippling panic attacks I was having at the time. I worked with a therapist to quit, but I sometimes will slip up.
One strategy I use to prevent hurting myself is I try to picture that the body part I will be doing harm to is that of someone else. Would I take a knife to someone I love's wrist? No. Most of the time, that makes me stop.

I occasionally still have the urge to self harm, however i am very lucky to be involved in the BDSM community and this gives me a healthy outlet for that sort of requirement.

Self-harm is a potential problem for anyone with any mental illness. Definitely not limited to Bipolar Disorder. I hadn't had any urges for over a decade, but recently those temptations have returned. I quickly dismiss them, and haven't allowed myself to give in to it, but it's not easy. And yes, the trigger is stress...stress of unemployment/under employment. Working so hard, and getting very little in return...yeah, definitely feeling the stress there and it's fueling the self-harm fire.

Hi Ash,
Thanks for sharing that. That's a very graceful and enlightened way of looking at it, I think.
- Natasha

Hi AlwaysSick,
Nice to see you here :)
You're absolutely right, you need not have a bipolar diagnosis (or any diagnosis) for self-harm to be a problem.
- Natasha

Thanks for the article. Shared it on our DBT Thought for the Day facebook page.
I would not use the word indecency because it is invalidating for people who already suffer from countless instances of invalidation. Self-harm is a coping mechanism that is not effective in the long run and doesn't support personal growth. Thought this was very helpful info.

I have self harmed in the past different ways.The clinic labeled me Borderline personality years ago.I changed my friendships to more meaningful supportive ones,and i dont hurt myself anymore because i want to be there for my friends in their times of need,and i cant do that if im lost in myself.

Because you were talking about self-harm as a means to achieve homeostasis, I thought I might add some possible explanation as to how that could work.
Stress has been known to lower the immune system. This might be why humans feel a need to self-harm when stressed - to reactivate the immune system again. When there's open wounds, burns or other kinds of injury or even just pain, your immune system is going to have to get activated to repair the damage and keep infections away.
Self-harming is not a human-only trait. Animals are known to do it too when experiencing prolonged periods of high amounts of stress.
That being said, there are many, many reasons for people to self-harm, and only few are ever mentioned. It's important to realize though that it does not always happen due to stress, even though it might be the most common sort.

if you self harm, and your girlfriend made you promise that you weren't going to ever again, but you did because you couldn't control it, should you tell her (to be honest)? or should you keep it to yourself

I am working a lot 10 hours max per day and i only take one day off during the week I work as a reservations Sales person and My fear is to fail from this fear I guess it lead to an anxiety. Everyday when I go home I don't have anybody to talk to except my mom and that's not enough for a normal person I have always been an anti social person so I didnt get any friend, lime real friends a group to hang out. And that led me to self harm for two years now almost I thinks this is normal for me. Like nothing is wrong with that its fine if I self harmed I have accepted that I will always be alone so and the pressure from work I lost 3 KG without even dieting this never occured before and there is no one to help me woth this after all its been two years of hiding my self harm