Understanding self-harm
Page 11
Short Report
Final thoughts
A certain kind of social sensitivity characterises many of the answers given by participants to a number of questions in the survey. For example, well over a third of those who hid their self-harm from their family did so because they worried about the potential emotional impact of disclosure on their families (the equivalent proportion for friends was a fifth).
A fifth of participants who had stopped harming by the time they filled in the survey had done so because they felt that harming ran counter to their social responsibilities or the opinions of others, and 13% had stopped because they felt bad about the perceived hurt that their self-harm was causing others.
In addition, roughly one in five participants who were hiding self-harm named shame, guilt or embarrassment (the emotions that express our connection with our social environment) as the reason for it, and a quarter experienced those feelings following an act of self-harm. What is the relationship between social sensitivity be at the root of the ‘secret self’/’social self’ split? What do you think? Click [here] to tell us.
There is ground for endless rumination, further research and discussion in relating all the different findings discussed in this report. How, for example, do the social aspects of self-harm such as the ‘secret self’/’social self’ split and social sensitivity relate to emotion regulation? SANE is by no means satisfied that we now know enough about self-harm.
We, the researchers at SANE, are continuing to consult with those who harm and the families and friends of those who harm, to speak with clinicians and other researchers, and to write and think about this topic. In the same spirit, this report is intended to be an organically growing piece of work which will be regularly updated based on feedback, new findings and novel ways of thinking about those findings.
Therefore, if you, the reader, have any thoughts on what you have read, any experiences that perhaps run counter to something we’ve said or if you just want to comment on a particular point we’ve made, please email us on: SelfHarmStudy@sane.org.uk. You’ll have noticed that we’ve flagged some areas we’re particularly interested in receiving input on, but you’re welcome to comment on anything. We don’t promise to incorporate your idea explicitly, but we will read what you write with interest and think about it in the context of what others have said. Your voice will be added to the voices of many, and it will contribute to increasing the knowledge base on this misunderstood and unnecessarily stigmatised behaviour.