What is Self-Inflicted Violence (SIV)?
SIV is the intentional injuring of one’s body as a means of coping with severe emotional and/or psychic stressors. While cutting is the most prevalent form of SIV, there are many others as well, such as burning, punching, picking at one’s skin or nails, and others. Some people use multiple forms of self-injury and each serves a different purpose. Many who self-injure do not experience physical pain at the time. Although self-injury is often referred to as “self-mutilation,” mutilating the body is very rarely the goal of SIV. Who self-injures? While the media is most fascinated with the stories of young white girls and women, people of both sexes, all ages, races, cultures, and sexual orientations, and from all socioeconomic backgrounds as well as professions live with SIV. Most people who self-injure begin to do so in childhood or adolescence. For some, the SIV is a single event, for most it continues for years. While some people are open about their lives with SIV, many keep it a secr
