If you wish to quote our definitions, you must give attribution to "FirstSigns at www.firstsigns.org.uk"

Short definition: Self-injury is a coping mechanism. An individual harms their physical self to deal with emotional pain, or to break feelings of numbness by arousing sensation.
Long Definition: Self-injury is any deliberate, non suicidal behaviour that inflicts physical harm on your body and is aimed at relieving emotional distress. Physical pain is often easier to deal with than emotional pain, because it causes 'real' feelings. Injuries can prove to an individual that their emotional pain is real and valid. Self-injurious behaviour may calm or awaken a person. Yet self-injury only provides temporary relief, it does not deal with the underlying issues. Self-injury can become a natural response to the stresses of day to day life and can escalate in frequency and severity.

Self-injury has nothing to do with either ‘weakness’ or ‘strength’, whatever those words might mean. Self-injury is a coping mechanism that allows people to deal with their emotional distress, which, of course, cannot be compared from person to person ... Self-injury is ... rather about finding a way to cope with overwhelming negative emotions, stresses, etc. Self-injury is a last-ditch attempt to cope with these factors, when the other options appear to be only an inability to function, or worse, suicide.