Unusual forms of Self-harm



Unusual forms of Self-harm

Do you often and regularly not get enough sleep? Do you constantly stay up very late at night doing unproductive activities such as watching random YouTube videos or mindlessly scrolling the internet to read articles? Do spend several hours at night playing video games and not getting enough sleep?

Or maybe you have a very poor diet. Do you eat a lot of processed foods and drink lots of caffeine in the form of soda, tea and coffee avoiding water? Do you find that you binge eat on a semi-consistent basis? Then, after eating too much, you feel bad and guilty about what you have done?

Maybe you don’t have the best hygiene.  You may shower, but not consistently. You don’t take pride in your appearance. Perhaps you have difficulty getting clean clothes or clothes that fit nice. Maybe you don’t regularly brush and floss your teeth.

Are you the sort of person who seems to have sex with a lot of people? Are you having a lot of random hook ups with inconsistent safe sex practice? You may or may not drink a lot, but you are having a lot of sex with random strangers with no intention to build anything meaningful.  Do you find you are worried a lot about catching a sexually transmitted disease? Have you had incidents where the person you’ve slept starts to chase and/or stalk you?

Is spending too much money each month a constant and reoccurring problem for you? Do you have growing debt? Do you find it difficult to stay cash flow positive? Do you have a lot of items still with the price tag on it that sit in your closet that you haven’t used yet?

Do you procrastinate on work projects or home projects? Do you find it quite difficult to motivate yourself do things that are ultimately good for you? Like paying bills on time to avoid late charges. To complete work projects in a timely manner to avoid office conflict.

Do any of these apply to you or someone you love? These are all forms of self-harming behaviors. Now, everyone occasionally may do one or more of things, and while it is self-harm, it does happen.  Everyone has an off day or a couple of off days. It may be a temporary bad day.

However, when something is a consistent and regular practice, it is often a sign that a person is struggling with emotional regulation and being able to process complex feelings. Too often people approach eating, shopping, procrastination and sleep with practical logical approaches. However, the above problems are not the result of a person lacking discipline or structure. They are in fact, a person’s negative and often destructive way to manage and/or cope/or avoid other more intense feelings. Often these feelings are stemming from anxiety that can be due to an important relationship or more existential in nature.

Many people recognize more obvious forms of self-harm such as self-injurious behavior like cutting or hitting one’s self. Or they will recognize drinking, drugging or suicidal expressions as self-harm. But most people don’t see that calling in for sick to work because a person is overwhelmed by life as self-harming.

If you are constantly battling with one or more of the above self-harming behaviors, there is help for you. Therapy provides a structured, safe and healthy relationship to help a person be able to recognize and process their feelings to make informed and healthy decisions and behaviors. If you want your life and relationships to better, don’t wait. Help is there for you.

If you would like to learn more, contact All in the Family Counselling Centre Pte Ltd. to arrange for an initial consultation. Preferred communication is via WhatsApp at +6590307239 or email at tammy @ allinthefamilycounselling DOT COM