It is very common for people to self-harm to stop dissociation (spacing out). Spacing out is a way to cope that people may develop when they go through difficult experiences as a young person. Do you remember feeling big, overwhelming emotions as a child, so overwhelming that you would "shut them down" or space out to get away from them? That was the best way you could cope at the time.

The problem is, the spacing out can become a scary and overwhelming experience, too. Being cut off from yourself can be scary. So you may self-harm in order to stop the numbness and return to a more normal feeling self.

You are not the only person who goes through this. You are not weird or a freak. You are a person who is suffering and trying to get through the pain the best way you know how. Working with your T, you will be able to find other ways to get through the scary feelings, ways that care for your self instead o hurting yourself.