{"id":12499,"date":"2020-03-16T13:33:11","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T18:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/news\/nonsuicidal-self-injury-what-to-know-and-look-for\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T08:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:32:55","slug":"nonsuicidal-self-injury-what-to-know-and-look-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/news\/nonsuicidal-self-injury-what-to-know-and-look-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: What to Know and Look For"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).<\/strong><\/p>\n

A teenage girl in your life might be struggling with self-injury or self-harm behavior and not getting the support she needs. Self-injury affects nearly 1 in 4 teenage girls in the United States, according to research<\/a> published in the American Journal of Public Health.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just girls. As described in the MHFA curriculum, nonsuicidal self-injury \u2013 also known as self-harm, self-mutilation, cutting and parasuicide \u2013 is relatively common in young adults. A survey of U.S. college students found that 15.3% had engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury at some time in their lives, with no significant difference in rates between males and females.<\/p>\n

This is why it\u2019s crucial that you understand what it is, what signs and symptoms to look for and how you can help with Mental Health First Aid.<\/p>\n

Nonsuicidal self-injury does not have a suicidal intention. It\u2019s a coping mechanism for distress, and people who engage in this behavior do so for a variety of reasons, including:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Escape from unbearable anguish<\/li>\n
  2. Change the behavior of others<\/li>\n
  3. Escape from a situation<\/li>\n
  4. Express desperation<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cGet back at\u201d other people or make them feel guilty<\/li>\n
  6. Relieve tension<\/li>\n
  7. Seek attention or help<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Types of nonsuicidal self-injury include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Cutting, scratching, or pinching skin enough to cause bleeding or a mark that remains on the skin<\/li>\n
    2. Banging or punching objects to the point of bruising or bleeding<\/li>\n
    3. Ripping and tearing skin<\/li>\n
    4. Carving words or patterns into skin<\/li>\n
    5. Interfering with the healing of wounds<\/li>\n
    6. Burning skin with cigarettes, matches or hot water<\/li>\n
    7. Pulling out large amounts of hair<\/li>\n
    8. Deliberately overdosing on medications when this is not meant as a suicide attempt<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Nonsuicidal self-injury is often a symptom of mental illness or serious psychological distress, so if you suspect that someone you care about is deliberately self-injuring, it is important to address it and provide support. You can learn how to do this appropriately and where to get additional professional help by taking a Mental Health First Aid course.<\/p>\n

      Mental Health First Aid teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to mental health and substance use challenges, including nonsuicidal self-injury. Take a course today<\/a> and learn how to use the ALGEE Action Plan to help someone around you in need.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). A teenage girl in your life might be struggling with … Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":12500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[193],"topic":[178,181],"news-type":[172],"class_list":["post-12499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-suicide","topic-mental-health","topic-mhfa-training","news-type-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNonsuicidal Self-Injury: What to Know and Look For<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: What to Know and Look For\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). 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