Self harm

The act of intentionally harming one's self without the intent to die. The most common forms are cutting, burning, scratching, excessive skin picking, and pulling out hair. Some less common forms are head-banging, bone breaking, self poisoning through ingesting toxic things, and even amputation. Some people also consider smoking, disordered eating, and excessive alcohol consumption to be forms of self harm. For the most part, self-harm is not an attention-seeking behavior. Most often it is a coping mechanism which serves to get relief from overwhelming emotions. It may also be a way to punish one's self. Self harm releases endorphins, chemicals whose function is to decrease pain, which makes an individual feel better, possibly even euphoric.