Gadjah Mada Medical Center (GMC) held an online seminar on “Self Harm” with speakers Nurul Kusuma H. and Nopi Rosyida Q., who are Psychologists at Gadjah Mada Medical Center and Psychological Consultation Unit, Faculty of Psychology at UGM on Monday (5/7).
This seminar was held because of people’s needs for mental health information, especially on self-harm. The hope is that it can provide insight to help yourself or others who are experiencing self-harm.
“Self-harm means things that people do to hurt themselves deliberately and usually secretly. So, the object of self-harm is oneself,” said Nurul.
Nurul explained the methods used to injure oneself such as hitting or banging the body, cutting, hair grabbing, scratching, overdose, and self-mutilation. The average person uses more than one method.
There are self-harms that are Non-suicidal Self Injury (NSSI), and there are those that may lead to suicidal attempts.
Nopi added that NSSI is a maladaptive way to deal with difficult feelings, disturbing thoughts, or memories of painful events.
“In psychology, NSSI is not a clinical diagnosis such as depression or anxiety. It has not been included in that category, so in principle, this is not a diagnosis. But this is a dangerous behavior that requires attention and more research related to this,” she said.
According to Nurul, there is psychological first aid that can be done for NSSI actions when you have a desire to injure yourself.
First, divert yourself from the desire to self-harm such as doing physical activity to relieve anger or tension. Second, we must identify things that can trigger the self-injury urges, be aware of bodily sensations when self urges arise, and seek social support (a form of support system). Lastly, try journaling. Writing down situations before, during, and after self-injury can help identify patterns of self-injury and create a sense of calm after writing them down.
Meanwhile, the assistance that can be given if we know that people around us are doing NSSI is to identify the risk of harm caused by self-injuring behavior. Find out if there is an injured body part and provide treatment. We can also be calm and show care, listen actively, express empathy, and provide a sense of security and comfort. The last important thing is to recommend getting the right professional help.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/21349-mengenal-self-harm-dan-solusinya
