If someone told you about harming themselves, you may feel extremely worried and scared for them. On the contrary, for someone who is regularly hurting themselves to cope, self-harm may be helping them relieve difficult emotions.

Self-harm is actually more common than you may think. According to Mental Health America, college students are at the greatest risk for self-injury by 17% to 35%. Many people who are involved with self-injury may not be open to sharing their difficulties as they may experience feeling guilt, shame, or unacceptance.

Interestingly, according to self-reporters, self-injury can almost feel like an addiction at times, just like in substance abuse disorder. Some individuals who practice self-harm describe feeling urges, or a need to “get clean”. After all, self-harm may facilitate escaping certain emotions or help with coping with them, just like drugs.

This is where hypnotherapy can help! Hypnosis has been proven to be really helpful with behavior change in addition to helping with the causes of self-harm. With the support of hypnosis, along with other traditional therapies, it is possible to heal and change!

What is self-harm?

Self-harm is different than suicide. Although sometimes self-injury can lead to death because of the depth of the physical damage or a need to act more or more severely just like an addiction. Usually, with self-harm, the intention is not death but emotional relief.

Self-harm may take many different forms. Common forms of self-injury are;

- Skin cutting

- Head banging

- Burning

Reasons for self-harm

There may be many reasons why someone chooses to hurt themselves. One common reason is to manage emotions. When emotions get difficult to express, or hard to deal with, self-harm can help with temporary relief.

Another common reason for self-harm can be a need to have control. When someone feels dissociated from their body, self-harm can help with feeling “normal”. 

Overall, although self-harm is not a mental health disorder, usually individuals who self-harm may be at a greater risk for mental health disorders. Substance abuse disorder, depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder are some of the common mental health problems associated with self-harm.

How can hypnosis help with self-harm?

First, hypnotherapy can help with behavioral change and management of the urges to self-harm. Next, hypnotherapy can help with identifying the root cause or helping with the underlying mental health problem.

Behavior change with hypnotherapy 

About 90% of our actions and decisions are made subconsciously first. Especially habits, they are almost embedded in the mind unconsciously. Without changing the subconscious way of being, it becomes really difficult to change our actions, thinking, or decisions.

Hypnosis works directly with the subconscious mind to change behaviors. Therefore, the effects of hypnosis for stopping self-harming behavior can be very profound.  

Every hypnotherapist has a different approach to rewiring the subconscious mind. One common way is the desensitization technique. Desensitization techniques incorporate parts of exposure therapy and talk therapy. During hypnosis, the person goes over triggering situations without toxic behavior.

Another approach can be the “anchor” technique. The anchor technique can be helpful when self-harm is done for relief or coping. Instead of self-harm, the person can use the hypnotic anchor that was established during hypnosis. This anchor can be a mental keyword or physical cue and when practiced it would bring relief and comforting feelings.

Considering how self-harming behavior can be almost like an addiction, we can conclude that hypnosis can also help with urges to self-harm. With the help of hypnosis, it’s possible to have fewer urges, less intense urges, or more control over urges as well.

Root cause identification with hypnosis

Although behavioral change is an important part of stopping self-harming behavior, without resolving the cause of the problem, the effects may not be long-lasting. Therefore, the next step with hypnosis would be identifying and resolving the root cause.

Sometimes the root cause can be emotional trauma that was suppressed subconsciously for years. Hypnotic tools such as regression or release techniques can be helpful to bring long-term relief. 

Sometimes mental health problems can lead to self-harming behaviors as well. If problems such as anxiety, depression, bipolar depression, or substance abuse are detected, hypnosis can also help with resolving these. Emotional release and building feelings of safety and security subconsciously can help significantly.

Final words from B Hypnotized

If you or someone you know is engaged in self-harming behavior, the first and best step is to seek professional help. This can help with having a better understanding of the triggers and causes. In addition to the help from a licensed mental health professional, hypnosis can help significantly to replace self-harming behavior with a healthy coping tool.