Deliberate self-harm is an intentional act of causing physical injury without suicidal intention and is widely considered as a way that some people, especially teenagers and young adults, use to cope with stressful and intense emotions. A recent set of studies from psychologists at Swansea University is showing that difficulties in perceiving and making sense of body sensations is playing a role in it.

This is supporting why treatment approaches should increasingly focus on helping people regulate their emotions through developing a better understanding and connection with what the body is communicating.

Many times for people that self-harm is difficult to identify their mental states or recognise and make sense of body signals: they often talk about a general sense of feeling overwhelmed by emotions or feeling detached and numb. So self-harm can act as a stronger sensation that provides immediate relief from feeling overwhelmed or brings them back from feeling detached.

According to neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, emotions are a physical reaction to a change, while feelings are the result of our brain reading and interpreting these body reactions. This explains why it is very important, when you seek therapy for self-harm, to focus on reconnecting with your body to help you identify and then regulate your emotions.