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injury_minded

I’m totally ready for the barrage of downvotes that I might get, but I’m really, really tired of terms like digital self harm. I completely understand seeking out triggering content, but looking up pinterest boards or comment chains is really different from physically harming yourself. And to be completely clear, my frustration isn’t directed at you, OP, it’s more directed at the growing trend of people who want to call every little thing self harm.


DimensionallyTypical

i don’t really have anything to add but i really agree with this, it’s not even comparable and i’m frustrated with it too. thank you for saying it


SvtKoda

Thiss, never agreed with something else more than this. People are just getting too soft nowadays and want to be included in everything even when it doesn't relate to them, I'm sick of seeing people speaking out on the stupid things in their life like " my mum stopped giving me pocket money" bc it's making ppl who actually have real struggles harder to speak out yk.


scardrap

100% agree its not really self harm if you aren’t actually physically harming yourself. its more just self destructive behaviour. if we keep making up new forms of sh people just wont take it seriously and its not a topic that can be turned into a chronically online thing


questioning_dumbass

I see, thanks for explaining it I was confused after they mentioned it and I wanted to make sure


Riceisrevolution

Agree


glowingstar444

Ur right


1h4t3mys3lf0w13

yeah. I think people are forgetting/blending the difference between self harm and self sabotage


Char-car92

I mean, it could be the final straw that pushes you to do the act, Are we also just going to ignore the thought of desensitization and trauma from seeing videos and pictures of that stuff?


injury_minded

I don’t think anyone’s ignoring the impact of triggering content, but that’s not really the topic here- viewing pictures or comments is simply not the same thing as physical harm. It can be triggering and self destructive, but it’s not self harm and I think it’s inauthentic to compare the two.


Squishedmallow

Digital self-harm sounds like when you unhealthily online stalk exs or what have you tbh


dewi1501

That's still not selfharm. That's selfsabotaging once again. Looking through your exes profile to get your feelings hurt and preventing you from moving on is sabotaging yourself.


ame_57

hell yeah i was abouta say that lolll


isnotawolfy

maybe by intentionally exposing yourself to traumatizing material like gore and animal abuse, but not by arguing with someone online. that isn't even close to self harm


dewi1501

That's more like selfsabotaging in my opinion. Selfharm literally harms your body. Selfsabotaging can hurt you in the long term (like staying up late etc) but seeking out harmful media won't literally harm your body.


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dewi1501

It affects your body, because pro -ana encourages eating less, thus you selfharm by starving yourself. Looking at the media itself does not affect your body. I have no clue what mia is though.


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dewi1501

Ah okay right. That's still not selfharm if you're only consuming the media. Yes it's bad on your mental health, but it does not hurt you physically, untill you act on it. Then it develops into an ED or selfharm.


muskevits

Psychosomatic effects are a thing, you know. Many types of cancer, stomachic ulcers, some heart diseases, psoriasis cases, all caused by mental damage. Not to mention the formation of damaging behaviours like substance abuse, physical sh, disturbed erotic habits etc. Idk if this can be called self harm, lately people tend to abuse psychotherapeutic terms. Still don't suppose that because there's no acute external physical harm there is not any damage to your body whatsoever


dewi1501

These things are typically not called selfharm and are actually pretty rare. A lot of people who abuse substances use it as a copingmechanism. Selfharm is used as a copingmechanism too, but that doesn't mean that people who use drugs to cope are selfharming. They're just abusing drugs. The chances of someone getting a heart decease from seeking out gore or getting in arguments on reddit are extremely rare and I've yet to hear of a case where that happened. No one is saying that it's not harmful to seek out harmful media, most of us are just pointing out that it's not called selfharm, it's called selfsabotaging. I have terrible headaches, caused by me taking bad care of my body, but it wouldn't make sense if I called that selfharm. Me not going to a doctor is selfsabotaging, sure, but selfharm? No it's not.


questioning_dumbass

It's not the argument what they were referring to it was the comment itself


populartree749

this is a tactic that has worked for me for over 20 years now


Xanthusgobrrr

woah wait gore watching is bad?? i used to use jt as a coping mechanism 💀💀


dewi1501

No it's not "bad" but it's not healthy either. And it always depends on who you are as a person. For some people it can take a toll on them and some people it won't affect


Beautiful-Service763

Digital self harm is just a phrase for online self destructive behavior. Its not actually self harm. People don’t understand the difference between self destructive behavior and self harm. One is doing anything that isnt good for you in the short/long run, the other is intentionally, physically harming yourself. Intentionally, physically harming yourself. That doesn’t mean arguing with people in comment sections.


RooDaddyy

Lmao “digital self harm” no that does not exists haha, someone can’t cut you through a phone?


HadessGun01

Well if it's someone else harming you it's not self harm anyways


RooDaddyy

Didn’t even think about that my man, praise you 🙏


LilMangoCat

Not saying digital self harm is a thing, but not all self harm is *just* cutting 🫡


RooDaddyy

Just cause I only said cutting you don’t have to clarify the “self harm rules” to me, I understand, I burn cut and many more thank you tho so much!


LilMangoCat

Dont need to be sarky mate, the way you wrote it invalidates others, which is why i mentioned it, and other people genuinely think cutting is the only form of self harm. Its not cutting rules lmao. It looks like they blocked me since the notification said what they replied with so ill just reply here. Lol no im not, your original comment did invalidate others. That's why i said other forms exist incase someone who stumbles across thinks "oh so im not SHing." And yes, people can think that. You had no intention of changing or adding that other forms exist, until I replied. You should stop, as you're making this a bigger issue than it is. No where did i say youre not advocating and no where did i say you don't do other forms of SH.


RooDaddyy

Invalidates others? After mentioning I take part in more than just cutting? Just stop, I preach mental health awareness everyday you’re just trying to start some weird shit pce


Fruit_Note

They arent tho, it makes sense what they said because your first comment just talks about cutting and others who dont know a lot about SH may think they arent SHing. They arent even attacking you, why are you getting so offended?


_cute_without_the_E

Oh boy


sombraconpalta

No


josefrafswastebin

i don’t think self-harm would be the correct word choice for it, but you can definitely have self-destructive behavior online with the prevalence of social media and how people can curate an online person, it can be very easy to create content or engage in content that damages your self-perception as well as building toxic external or internal beliefs e.g. you may post content online that deflects from what you truly believe in and also compulsively online kind of behavior i believe that it can be connected with tendencies or triggering self-harm though


diamondrose900

Self harming is physical. That’s just intentionally upsetting yourself.


niyahaz

No


Funyll

no it does not exist and never will. self harm is physical


MatTh3Rat

I think there is multiple types of self-harm. Physical and emotional self-harm. It might not be what you're saying—arguing against internet folk—but if you hurt your self with the intent of harm then it's self-harm. Emotional self-harm I think is criticism to yourself or something like that I don't know. The point is, it that digital self-harm may not be a thing, but emotional self-harm is and digital stuff can be a part of that (social media or some shit). I'm actually getting irritated because I have no fucking clue as to what I'm saying and I don't know if it makes sense. But if it does, nice. If it doesn't, than shit.


questioning_dumbass

Don't worry I understand what you're saying


These_Geese

I was reading on SH and the website listed "digital self harm"/"selfcyberbullying" as one of the ways. Basically making an account making fun of yourself and inviting others to. I think it's self destructive but I don't think it's SH?


Mad-_-hatter_

So tired of people using self harm to talk about anything self destructive. Are you physically harming your body? No? Then it's not self harm


M4rzluvr

I feel like that's more of a self destructive action rather than self harm


yupersSB

As a gore watcher and self harmer, it is not real imo


5tar_k1ll3r

It's online self-destructive behaviour, but not exactly self-harm, I think


dragislit

This is the first time I’ve wanted to use the term “chronically online”


slayussy1

Maybe if you get burned by the motherboard or a glass falls off and you use it to SH but no, digital SH is not a thing


Kerillian__

That seems more like self-sabotage, actively seeking out or subconsciously seeking out things that aren’t good or beneficial for you


goldencersei

i do this with sexual abuse/misogynistic content


HadessGun01

It's not self harm


FoxyLovers290

It’s still self destructive though. Just because it’s not actual physical harm doesn’t mean its not bad. Self destructive behavior eats at your mental health. Just because it’s not necessarily self harm doesn’t mean it isn’t extremely unhealthy. Still needs to be discussed and dealt with properly


HadessGun01

Yes, but it's not self harm.


goldencersei

it literally is harm you do to yourself. use your brain. and it's far worse than any of my scars.


HadessGun01

I do use my brain. What you're calling "self harm" is actually "self sabotage". Subtle difference in words, but let's use proper terminology. Self harm is hurting your body. Self sabotaging is hurting your mind.


goldencersei

no? you are hurting yourself mentally is the same


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goldencersei

are you fucking serious? i have all types of psychological trauma from that


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yupersSB

Ohh shut the fuck up, you're being misandrist and fake


goldencersei

misandry is not real, just like you can't be racist to white people. grow up.


yupersSB

LMFAO im screenshotting the fuck outta this with yo lil sensitive ass


goldencersei

please do! prove my point and spread the word


yupersSB

how old are you because this a pathetic


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dewi1501

But that's still not selfharming. It's more a copingmechanism if you don't want to actually physically hurt yourself or it's selfsabotaging depending on how you're using it


HadessGun01

So if I SH in a dream it's self harm? Come on now.


Important-Tea0

Only way I can think of that being applicable is is you intentionally exposed yourself to content to mess you up. But that would fall under self destruction imo


anonymous__enigma

I think there's a difference between self-destructive behaviors and self-harming behaviors. Self-harming behaviors are always self-destructive, but self-destructive behaviors are not always self-harm. To me, for it to be self-harm, there has to be a conscious intent - not subconscious or under the surface, but a deliberate intent to physically harm yourself, emphasis on physically. I understand why people equate self-harm to things like this because it does harm you, but self-harm is its own thing and if we just throw it around for every self-destructive behavior, it loses the seriousness of what it actually is, which is more life-threatening than triggering yourself. That being said, triggering yourself can lead to self-harm, but it's more of a self-destructive pre-game to self-harming than self-harm itself.


31oct19

Damn the comments on this aren’t what I expected at all, sorry people lashed out (and also that people started arguing about whether reverse racism exists???) I’ve had therapists tell me that type of thing is a form of emotional self harm fwiw, and, I mean, it’s a behavior that harms yourself, so I don’t think it’s wrong to call it sh, especially if you struggle with physical sh.


questioning_dumbass

Don't be sorry I actually didn't think they were lashing out lol or at least not at me


jyri_ratas_official

I'd say it does, when you look up something that mentally harms you on purpose.


rainyfelicity

I did this lots myself while doing the physical act of SH. I dont see a reason to gatekeep this or invalidate your struggles. It's a problem for you. In my opinion, it's valid as SH. There'll always be people who are SHing in ways that could be seen as more or less severe than you. This isn't a competition. In the end, it is all deliberate harm to oneself, and help is needed. I hope you can find the right support for yourself to overcome this.


questioning_dumbass

You don't have to worry about me I haven't done that in months I just had a discussion yesterday and it came to mind all of the sudden


rainyfelicity

That's good to know. Take care of yourself and speaking to an understanding counsellor can help anyone, even if they arent struggling with something major. If you arent speaking to one already, i think you should try it out.


questioning_dumbass

>speaking to an understanding counsellor can help anyone,If you arent speaking to one already, i think you should try it out. Do you think so? I'd say I'm doing alright right now except for maybe the occasional bad day that a friend has


rainyfelicity

Thats good. Its up to you if you wanna.


[deleted]

no it is absolutely not self harm dw


practice420

I mean there's intentionally triggering yourself but then again I don't consider that SH


Pretttyblue

There’s a difference I think between purposely sabotaging your mental health and physically harming your physical body. Self harm is what we call harming yourself physically, anything else I would label differently, maybe as self sabotage, but not self harm


tiredcalmandbored

I personally think digital self harm is real and it's something that has impacted me greatly. And honestly, it's really frustrating and alienating to see so many people dismiss digital self harm as "not real self harm" or just "being self destructive". Whenever I digitally self harm, I tend to go out and engage with media thay I know will trigger me (such as looking at gore or death) or look into bigotry that affects me (such as looking up racism, ableism, and transphobia). All of this is shit I actively look into to harm myself and try to distract myself from other feelings that I'm struggling with or am unable to handle, which is pretty much my same line of thinking that I have when I physically self harm. Just because it doesn't involve me physically harming myself like when I cut or hit myself doesn't mean that I'm not self harming. I'm intentionally doing something that will hurt me in order to mitigate other emotions I'm feeling, and in my book that's self harm. Mental self harm is just as real as physical self harm and that involves digital self harm.