Skip to main menu Skip to content Skip to footer

Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

Quick Facts on Self-Injury

Intentionally cutting or scratching the skin to alleviate distress is common among teenagers.

en Español

Overview

Self-injury is characterized by deliberately injuring oneself to alleviate some kind of emotional distress. The most common form of self-injury is cutting or scratching the skin, but people also self-injure by burning themselves, picking at skin and wounds, or hitting themselves. Self-injury is more common in girls than boys, and onset is often around puberty.

Signs Your Child May Be Self-Harming:

  • Talking about self-injury
  • Suspicious-looking scars
  • Wounds that don’t heal or get worse
  • Cuts on the same place
  • Increased isolation
  • Collecting sharp tools such as shards of glass, safety pins, nail scissors, etc.
  • Wearing long-sleeved shirts in warm weather
  • Avoiding social activities
  • Wearing a lot of band aids
  • Refusing to go into the locker room or change clothes in school

How to Help

If you discover that a child has been hurting herself it’s important to have her evaluated by an experienced mental health professional to find out why she is self-injuring and what emotional difficulties she’s experiencing.

Therapy

Medication

Often, if there is another disorder involved, a doctor will prescribe medication to treat that condition. 

Important:
If you or someone you know needs help now, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

This article was last reviewed or updated on October 30, 2023.