Does scratching count as self harm if I don't bleed?
280 Answers
Last Updated: 11/20/2022 at 4:23pm
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Art Therapist
Life can be messy. Sometimes you need a little support to make your way through it. I love to help guide people through their challenges & to find the beauty in our messes.
Top Rated Answers
Yes it does as you are still intentionally harming yourself, it does not matter if you bleed or not
Any self inflicted injury, no matter how small is self harm and you should seek help from a friend, doctor or councillor, please keep yourself safe xx
Anonymous
November 5th, 2015 8:15am
If you do something with the intention of harming yourself - it is self-harm. Even if you flick yourself, scratch yourself, bruise yourself - they are all forms of self-harm. Some are more severe than others.
Anonymous
November 5th, 2015 8:50pm
If you hurt yourself, it's considered self harm. Even if you don't bleed. It's going to be self harm because you're inflicting it upon yourself.
yes, even though you aren't cutting, you are still causing self pain.
Yes, even if it does not draw blood it's still an act of self-harm. You're inflicting harm upon your body intentionally
Anonymous
November 15th, 2015 3:37am
Self-harm is about the intention, not the injury. It depends on what the purpose of the scratching is and what it means to you.
Yes, scratching does count as self harm, even though you don't bleed. Evevry form of hurting deliberately is self harm. The amount of pain or blood that you experience is not a requirement for self harm. The fact that you want or even have to hurt your self means that you self harm.
Yes but we can help you through this try drawing on your arm instead of cutting.it is a hard habit to break but with help from 7 cups you can win this battle
On a personal level I did scratch as a form of self harm, although my bf says it is a form of self harm. Even when you do not bleed, you are still harming yourself to feel good.
yes. it does. even emotional hurt would easily be construed as hurt, because hurt is hurt, doesnt matter if it did bleed or not.
Yes, it does. Even if you don't bleed, you are inflicting pain on yourself. You are still harming your skin.
Well I'd say yes ... it's just in a less period. It's like being a drug addict ... you start with a little and get yourself deeper in the problem with time ... so stop till you can!
Yes, scratching does count as self harm even if you don't bleed. If you are causing yourself to have some sort of pain as a result of actions you do to yourself, it is still considered self-harm. Not all self-harm leads to scars.
Yes it does any form of hurting urself for release of stress or problems u may have is classed as a form of self harm it don't have to be physicall either u can do it mentally ass well
It's the behaviour of injuring ones self to create a sense of relief, not the resulting severity of the injury that judges whether or not it is self harm. To scratch ones self to create pain is the same concept as cutting yourself and drawing blood. Some people burn themselves which does not result in blood loss either. It is all about the mental patterns and the release from creating a sense of euphoria, distraction or self punishment.
Anonymous
November 25th, 2015 3:49am
This depends on how hard you are scratching and if your intent is to harm yourself or just to scratch a big bite. Try taking a step back and deciding what your intent is and if you think that it is for harm or as a substitute for making yourself bleed then I suggest getting professional help
The tough answer is yes. Self harm is not about seeing blood, even though it might feel like that, it is more about hurting yourself. If you have trouble with this, you can always start up a conversation with me, contact one of these hotlines (http://insteadofcutting.tumblr.com/hotlines) or contact you doctor. I wish you the best!
Yes, absolutely anything you do to harm yourself on purpose in any way IS self harm. Don't feel like you have to bleed in order for your self harm to be valid.
Anonymous
November 27th, 2015 1:42am
yes it does because you are trying to harm yourself whether or not there is blood remember self harm can occur at anytime and you dont know how to control it. so yes it does count my opinion is to try and stop if you do
yes, any form of purposely hurting yourself is considered to be self harm. i went through a period of my life where i scratched myself and pulled my hair out, i was then told my doctors that these actions were considered to be self harm
Yes, scratching yourself does count as self harm any harm inflicted by you is self harm if your willingly doing it.
Yes. It does. I used to do it. I sometimes feel like I need to do it. So I decided to stop. I tattooed my wrist to avoid scratching myself and try to breath everytime I feel it. And it's working really good.
Yes. You re still causing physical harm to yourself. Any thing that you do on purpose to hurt yourself is self harm
Anonymous
November 29th, 2015 6:55pm
I'd say it is if you do it purposely hard or are rough with yourself, even if you don't bleed. I know from personal experience when I get nervous or stressed or upset or angry or any bad emotion I scratch to calm myself down.
Self harm consists of any action that inflicts intentional pain on yourself, regardless whether it bleeds or leaves a mark or not. Therefore, scratching does count as self harm.
Yes, scratching does count as self harm. Self harm is basically what it's name is, you inflicting an injury upon yourself. If someone gets hit, that is considered an injury, so if someone hurts themself, even if it doesn't bleed, it's a self inflicted injury. So yeah, scratching is self harm even if you don't break skin. Take care of yourself love
Yes it is, any type of violence against your own body and health is self harm. Basically, once any type of pain is gained, it is a start of self harm.
if you do it to hurt yourself - yes. if you do it unintentionally, without the goal of harming yourself, than no
Anonymous
December 5th, 2015 3:21pm
Scratching does count as self harm if you are attempting to hurt yourself. If the scratching thing was a accident or you are turning to it instead of cutting, then talk to someone about to get some extra assistance.
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