A Necessary Pain: A Literature Review of Young People’s Experiences of Self-Harm

Abstract

Background: Self-harm is defined as intentional self-injury without the wish to die. People who self-harm report feeling poorly treated by healthcare professionals, and nurses wish to know how best to respond to and care for them. Increased understanding of the meaning of self-harm can help nurses collaborate with young people who self-harm to achieve positive healthcare outcomes for them. Aim: This review aimed to synthesise qualitative research on young peoples' experiences of living with self-harm. Method: A literature search in CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO resulted in the inclusion of 10 qualitative articles that were subjected to metasynthesis. Results: The results show that young people's experiences of living with self-harm are multifaceted and felt to be a necessary pain. They used self-harm to make life manageable, reporting it provided relief, security, and a way to control overwhelming feelings. They suffered from feeling addicted to self-harm and from shame, guilt, and self-punishment. They felt alienated, lonely, and judged by people around them, from whom they tried to hide their real feelings. Instead of words, they used their wounds and scars as a cry for help. Conclusion:Young people who harm themselves view self-harm as a necessary pain; they suffer, but rarely get the help they need. Further research is necessary to learn how to offer these people the help they need.

“My Heart and My Brain Is What's Bleeding, These Are Just Cuts.” An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Young Women's Experiences of Self-Harm

“…It also carries risks of scarring or organ damage. Evidence from the current study and elsewhere shows that individuals who self-harm are not oblivious of the risks ( 3 , 8 ). However, Woodley et al ( 8 ) identified a cognitive dissonance in the way their participants held apparently contradictory beliefs about the dangers and benefits of self-harm, that, at times, led them to downplay the risks.…”

“…However, such efforts may be hampered by different conceptualisations of self-harm by clinicians (and other potential help-givers) and the individuals who engage in self-harm. While clinicians may see self-harm as a maladaptive and risky behavior, those who engage in it may see it as a “ necessary pain” (p. 154) ( 3 ), and a vital way of coping with otherwise intolerable distress ( 4 ).…”

Walking Wounded. Mediating self-cutting through images and texts

“…The notion that self-harm is a way of expressing something inexpressible is quite common in the literature and in the relevant research; see, for example, Bandalli (2011: 51), who writes that self-harm expresses and communicates "inexpressible emotions and issues." In a review of young people's experiences of self-harm, Lindgren et al (2021) develop this common communicative aspect, defining it as "speaking without words" (7). Steggals et al conclude that when the normal language it is not working, it is replaced by self-injury an "alternative semiotics of communicative body" (2020a: 167).…”

Self Harm and Suicide in Adolescents

“…Akan tetapi konsekuensi tindakan tersebut tidak hanya dapat melukai secara fisik, tetapi dapat pula membahayakan nyawanya (Valencia & Sinambela, 2021). Dengan kata lain, individu dengan perilaku self harm memiliki motivasi untuk bertahan hidup sedangkan individu dengan keinginan bunuh diri memiliki motivasi untuk mengakhiri hidupnya (Lindgren et al, 2022).…”