Hi SelfHarm. to PC!
Like skeezyks I can relate to the self harm impulses and complusions. Self harm in whatever form it manifests I personally view as our unhealthy outward expressions of our feelings of worthlessness. Self-harm is what we do to ourselves when we can't get past certain feelings or memory triggers but lack healthy coping skills, so we get stuck in a loop of recreating and reinforcing these low images of ourselves by this vicious cycle of trying fruitless to distract from them by self punishment which may give slight immediate relief but just deepens the initial wounds. .This can be the result of many things, some part of chemical MI( ie depression), or the result of anxieties, trauma, PDs etc... The fact is whether the intial causes are external or internal, I have learned thru working w/ Ts and groups...to identify the initial underlying cause, and then work simultaneously on breaking the cycle by addressing/ working thru the,underlying issues while learning healthier methods and distractions to treat and hopefully eventually end the,self imposed cycle of trauma. Hope this helps. Pm me if you need anything. Be safe and kind to yourself.