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Looking for consultation on self-harm and Social Identity

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selfharm_and_identity:
Hi all!

Thanks to the admin team for letting me post on this forum.

About me: I'm a psychology researcher studying at the University of Oxford. I’m in the process of developing a study on self-harm and I would love to have some input on it from the people on this forum.

A little about the study: it aims to investigate the effect on wellbeing of seeing yourself as part of a community or group of people who self-harm. There are an increasing number of supportive communities and social groups centred around self-harm. Many of these communities are on social media sites, such as Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr. It's possible that some individuals involved in these communities may come to understand their identity partly through their membership of these social groups. My aim is to investigate whether having a social identity related to these kinds of groups could have positive effects, negative effects, or a combination of positive and negative effects.

Before going ahead with this study, however, I would really like to consult with some people or organisations with particular knowledge of this topic. In particular, I really want to ascertain whether the idea of a "self-harm community" or "self-harm identity" as described above is something which actually resonates with people who self-harm, or whether it is not really something which most people who self-harm would recognise. If it is something which is recognisable, then I am interested in seeing what the accurate term or term(s) for such a community would be.

If you have any kind of view on this topic, please feel free to reply to this post or DM me. Alternatively, if you'd like to have a more involved 1-to-1 conversation, please drop me a line and we can set up a chat. I'm able to pay a consultation fee of £15/hour for the latter option. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Best wishes,
Guan

Vermilion:
I'd describe self harm as a symptom rather than an identity. For an identity to revolve around self harm would be akin to an identity surrounding diabetes; I have diabetes but that's not who I am. I use this forum to communicate with others who understand the struggles rather than forming an identity.

I think that forming an identity linked to self harm would detrimental. People may continue to self harm and not get the treatment that they need out of fear of losing their identity. A pro recovery forum is very different in that regard, some users here haven't self harmed in years and others may not be harming at all but seek understanding of it.

selfharm_and_identity:
Hi Vermilion,

Thanks for your response, that makes sense to me and I can see how having that kind of identity could have potentially tricky consequences.

Would you say on your time on this forum that you've met people whose identity was linked to self-harm? Is this a recognisable phenomenon do you think, or not really?

Best wishes,
Guan

kat45:
Using this forum has help me since i started to self harm last yr and if wasnt for my support worker recommending this forum i wouldnt been able to connect with other poeple in a safe way and i never knew that other people self harmed and i thouht i was alone.

Vermilion:

--- Quote from: selfharm_and_identity on May 10, 2024, 02:13:57 PM --- Would you say on your time on this forum that you've met people whose identity was linked to self-harm? Is this a recognisable phenomenon do you think, or not really?

Best wishes,
Guan

--- End quote ---

I've personally never come across any users here that would feel like self harm is linked in any way to their identity. Users here, it seems to me, are generally trying to stop self harm, or at least minimise it, and are seeking support from others who are struggling with it. That's really all it is, it's simply peer support. In fact, I've talked to a few people who dislike terms such as 'self harmer' because it implies that its a part of who we are rather than just something we do to cope with whatever the underlying issues are. Many prefer phrasing along the lines of 'person who self harms' rather than a term like 'self harmer'.

I can imagine that some people may see it as part of their identity, but they'd probably join a pro self harm community whereas this forum is pro recovery. This is just speculation though, I have never used a pro self harm forum, but have stumbled upon them from time to time. They probably still exist somewhere but I have no interest in joining one.

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