Who self-harms?
"Only girls are cutters."
"Only rich kids hurt themselves."
Have you heard this before? I have heard this time and time again, and seen the portrayal in movies and social media. In reality, studies don't support these claims. What studies do tell us:
All genders self-harm
Females are likely to start sooner and harm for longer.
Females are more likely to use forms of self-harm such as cutting while males are more likely to punch.
Males are more likely to report a social component like having someone else hit them.
Sexual orientation can be a predictor
Being Bisexual is a risk factor
Identifying as Lesbian or Gay "does not seem to carry much elevated risk above and beyond being straight."
Now, stating these facts does not mean you can't self-harm if you're straight/heterosexual or non binary, or anything else. I feel I should clarify this because of the comment sections of some of my videos. If you want to learn more about who self-harms, click here.
Were you surprised by the article? Please let me know in the comments, and share this page to help educate the world on self-harm.
Until next time.
Kelcey