Incidence of self harm among asexuals?

[Rhaenys]

I chose other. I don't know what attempted suicide would fall under in that poll hmm.

[mindsword]

I'm a Type 1 diabetic. I stab myself enough everyday to take my insulin that adding any more pain onto it would be foolish.

[BonesTheHeretic]

Embarrassingly enough, I used to self harm because there seemed to be a big fuss about it and I thought maybe it would make me feel better/was cool. Didn't work at all for me, but I still did it for a while when I was really really angry because it gave me something to concentrate on, and let me cool down (I have temper issues). For me it was more the ritual of treating the wounds than the making of them in the first place. I don't do it anymore but I sometimes miss it.

[MadRat]

I´ve never self harmed. I hate physical pain.

[PiF]

did we get a definition of self harm yet?

are we talking alcohol abuse..overdoses...cutting...anorexia etc?

[PiF]

and yet all are a chosen way of abusing oneself?..nothing more than clarification sought

[Sally]

The only self-harm I've engaged in is long relationships with sexuals and too many potato chips.

I really worry about any tincture of implying connection between asexuality and all sorts of conditions, including self-harm or self-stim activities. Being asexual in this highly-sexualized society is very difficult; the stress involved in that can lead to various coping strategies. However, sexuals certainly self-harm, and no one has implied that there might be a connection between being sexual and self-harm. I know this thread didn't state an implied connection, but just the title of the thread may cause some AVEN readers to think that's the case.

[PiF]

just another in a long line of..is it asexualities fault zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Salmacis]

On a par with the 'suicide' thread that I posted on not long ago, for me, asexuality had absolutely nothing to do with self-harm, suicidal intent, and the low self-esteem from which the former two arose. All kinds of people self-harm or have a history of it - people from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures and sub-cultures. And the reasons they are led to it are usually external pressures such as the 'ideal' shoved in their faces by the media, pressure from school/family to do well academially, or simply - as in my own case - the feeling that they are 'different' from other people, and the sense of loneliness and shame in oneself that this gives rise to. (I could, here, go and have a little rant about the 'emo' - 'I have more cuts than you therefore I'm cooler' trend, but for now I will graciously stifle my detestation)... :evil:

Certainly, asexuality cannot be ruled out as a potential factor leading to self-harm, but I find it difficult to believe it an at all prevalent one. In fact, I'm sure I'm not the only person who greatly improved their self-esteem issues and stopped self-harming AFTER having discovered asexuality and finding a place for myself within the community. Before I did, I was very lost.

[Guest member25959]

I have self-harmed before, gender related stuff. I really shouldn't go into detail though.

[Vdougie]

Well, I never self harmed through measures such as cutting for depression, which I'm assuming what the op meant, but, I have in the past scratch myself, hit my self in places of my body, and punch my fists into something when I was stressed out, and it was not related to my asexuality. I do not want to cut myself. I hate the pain and scars that come with it.

[Astrobot]

I never understood why people self-harm themselves. Self-harming is a completely alien activity to me.

[PiF]

largely..it's a coping method

some use alcohol to cope, some use drugs etc..self harming in the cutting sense is largely about a person who feels they have lost all control about to explode and they need a release to bring things back down to a calmer level

there is nothing wrong with cutting..it is nothing to be ashamed of..but

most self harmers who cut do know whilst it may work for them..it is less than ideal and there are better ways of doing it

like most who need to take that step away from such ways of coping..they will do so when they are ready

and when they do..they will always have the utmost of support from me

[goaTmcFEE]

I self-harmed for about a month. The scary thing for me is, I didn't really know what self harm was. I knew kids cut themselves and stuff in high school and I didn't understand it at all. But at the time i did it, my mind was in such a strange place that I didn't really realize what I was doing. It was a coping mechanism. I wasn't cutting myself, I was training myself; trying to use it as a form of discipline to change who I was. I thought it was completely rational...until one day something opened my eyes and I realized what I was doing was messed up.

It's not something I ever really intended to do. And yes, it was regarding my asexuality. Thankfully I'm well past that now, and it didn't last too long when it happened.

[futurus]

Fuck. I need to change my vote from "used to self harm" to "I self harm".

The sickest thing is that right now, with five thin slices on my knuckles, I'm happier than I've been in months. Correlation or cause-effect?