Quote:
Originally Posted by reb569
I never really thought of self-harm in relation to CPTSD. I think anyone who feels a lack of control over their life, or anger that they cannot express has a tendency towards self-harm. In a way, I think the strong inner and outer critics in CPTSD are a method of self-harm. I am so hard on myself sometimes. I lash out with the horrible names and self-hate. It's like I mentally torture myself over and over again.
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I think you are making an important point, self harm is not only physical but also psychological.
You are right, unexpressed anger can precipitate into depression. Definitely the inner critic is a method of self harm. Self empathy and compassion come from positive psychological experiences with our parents, which is why we tend to be so hard on ourselves and critical. I notice sometimes people reacting to negative experiences from a position of self-empathy and self-compassion because as human beings and to live normal life, we need to minimize our negative affects and maximize our positive affects, but actually we DO the reverse.
I don't know if this analogy will make sense
but I always relate to it. In one of Spider Man movies, a dark material becomes attached to his body and he in return turns into guy that can harm others instead of helping them. In one of the most agonizing scenes, he was going through a death like experience to detach this matter from his body!! He succeeded but it was very painful. The inner critic is a powerful destructive tool we use against ourselves and we must go through painful process to detach from it.