Self harm, more prevalent in certain types?

[DreamBeliever]

Self harm, more prevalent in certain types? What do you guys think?

 

[FemMecha]

From what I understand self-harm has to do with trying to re-balance when a person either feels nothing inside or way too much. Physical pain is simple, concrete, and in its own dysfunctional way, centering. For the person who feels detached from reality through apathy and numbness can be drawn to self-harm in order to feel something again. For another person who detaches from reality by feeling so much complex pain inwardly that they enter complete overwhelm, can also self-harm physically to get a simpler form of pain. It can sometimes be the only distraction from intense, abstract pain. Because of these opposite forms of internal/external imbalances, then I think there could be a different types engage in it. I suspect the INF can be on the end of the spectrum where they have the internal overwhelm.

That impulse to center through simple, concrete, physical means, is a misdirected application of the true help for these imbalances. Instead of just hurting oneself, we do need to do something simple, concrete, and physical, but it can have a healthier outcome rather than just harm. Running or dancing are two good substitutes for that same need and impulse.

 

[Luv Deluxe]

For another person who detaches from reality by feeling so much complex pain inwardly that they enter complete overwhelm, can also self-harm physically to get a simpler form of pain. It can sometimes be the only distraction from intense, abstract pain. Because of these opposite forms of internal/external imbalances, then I think there could be a different types engage in it. I suspect the INF can be on the end of the spectrum where they have the internal overwhelm.

I used to struggle with this, and for the above reasons. It would happen when I felt so overwhelmed by internal suffering that I'd reach out for anything to distract myself. Physical pain did the trick for a while, and then eventually it put me in the ER.

I haven't done this in four and a half years; I feel healthy and balanced again, like my true self. Even though that part of my life is long gone, I can still relate and empathize. It's a serious issue and one that I think people need to be more honest and communicative about. I had to learn how to ask for help, that it's okay to ask for help, and now I cope with excess anxiety/energy in other ways - like going to the gym five days a week.

(Maybe those with a core in the Enneagram's fear/thinking triad are more liable to have this streak in them? I've known a few troubled Fours as well, though their issues tend to stem from slightly different causes deep down.)

 

[Aleph]

I read that inferior Se is also connected to self harm, as it is to overeating/not eating enough, overdrinking and so on. I relate to this very much, unfortunately.

 

[DreamBeliever]

Thank you to everyone that's responded so far with their thoughts. I was curious on if there's a connection, because I've dealt with self harm myself. I know it can be a hard subject to talk about, so thank you guys for sharing your stories with me. I appreciate any thoughts you guys have on the matter. If anyone else has any opinions or thoughts, feel free to comment.

 

[Antimony]

I notice those with inferior Se are more prone to doing harmful things to themselves, but I also see it in those with tertiary Si. Weird, eh?

 

[Oaky]

I notice those with inferior Se are more prone to doing harmful things to themselves, but I also see it in those with tertiary Si. Weird, eh?

That'd be INTJs and INFJs who do self harm, where I'd assume INTPs, INFPs would be prone to it, tertiary Si as you mentioned. You're basically saying INs hurt themselds. ._.


on an unrelated note:
omgwherehaveyoubeenyouvebeengoneforsolong!

 

[hjgbujhghg]

INFPs , Fi+Ne that's just being an emo kid in MBTI language

 

[Luke O]

Well it's been 12 years since I last cut myself. It's still on my mind but I'm stronger now. For me it was because I wanted to feel something, as much an emotional need as a sensory need. If you met me though, you wouldn't guess I was a cutter, I never did it on parts of me that are usually visible.

One thing that made it hard for me to stop was that I didn't give a shit about my own body, it was hard to stop being self-destructive. It was an odd state, hurting myself to feel alive.

 

[ReadingRainbows]

As a long time self harmer - I think I can chime in for this.
I think that types that are more prone to emotional sensitivity might have more issues with self harming. I have known other self harmers and the major contributing factors usually have something to do with emotional invalidation of some sort. Sometimes people self harm as a way to dissociate from other strong emotions. For this reason, it is common for victims of childhood sexual abuse to be self harmers.

I don't think that this is very type related.

 

[FemMecha]

[MENTION=24321]DreamBeliever[/MENTION], I'm so sorry to hear you deal with this issue.

Besides issue of type, like the Ni detachment combined with inferior Se that we have in INJs, environment also plays a significant role.

Environments in which you are pressured to be "perfect" with constant guilt-tripping are dangerous for triggering the need to self-harm as well. You could do some googling to find out a wider variety of research on the subject, but about ten years ago I read a study that said the most vulnerable demographic to secret self-harm (which is different from trying to fit into a culture that values it) is the young, middle class girl who feels pressured and has trouble expressing her emotions. Also a history of sexual abuse can exacerbate it because it leaves you with a nameless, free-floating guilt.

[removed anecdote] It is important to identify the triggers and know that you have every right in the world to avoid those triggers - whether they be people, situations, certain dynamics, etc. It's more important to be happy and find peace than to "please" others or be "successful".

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

It still exists within me like a shadow. It is a sad feeling to know that if subjected to enough external pain and pressure that you have the capacity to turn on yourself. I have always had some mindfulness about it - not doing the worst or full frequency of the impulses, and I am working to personally replace the behavior by taking dance, watching comedies, and eating healthy. It is important to identify the triggers and know that you have every right in the world to avoid those triggers - whether they be people, situations, certain dynamics, etc. It's more important to be happy and find peace than to "please" others or be "successful".

Would you say that in general, people with extroverted feeling can have issues with others guilt-tripping them?

 

[Antimony]

That'd be INTJs and INFJs who do self harm, where I'd assume INTPs, INFPs would be prone to it, tertiary Si as you mentioned. You're basically saying INs hurt themselds. ._.


on an unrelated note:
omgwherehaveyoubeenyouvebeengoneforsolong!

And ENxx's But I have seen self harm mostly in INFPs, ENFPs, INTJs and INTPs.

And I've been off doing 7w8 stuff huahahahha. I'm here to see what's crackin' on my old stomping grounds.

 

[Luv Deluxe]

Besides issue of type, like the Ni detachment combined with inferior Se that we have in INJs, environment also.

So much of this hits so close to home, it's scary.

I'm sorry you had to go through this.

I read that inferior Se is also connected to self harm, as it is to overeating/not eating enough, overdrinking and so on. I relate to this very much, unfortunately.

The inferior Se idea is interesting. When I began to feel better emotionally, I experienced the impulse to hurt myself less and less - but I had also begun working a job that required me to develop my Se considerably, be aware of my environment in the moment, be more physically present, etc. I think it helped a lot.

 

[fetus]

I don't think this has anything to do with type.

I very much struggled with it off-and-on for a couple years. Mostly it came from a place of deep self-hatred--feeling like I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't loved, that I was just a mistake. My third relapse was brought on by a spell of crippling perfectionism. Everything had to be an A+, just like my older brother. When I forgot a project a day late, I thought my grade would drop to a B+, so I started self-harming again. It sounds like a silly reason, but to me, it was the end of the world. I had a vision of myself that I couldn't fulfill. At my worst point, I kept a failure log. How many times I failed in a day, and how times I succeeded. Whenever I felt like I'd messed up, I snapped a rubber band against my wrist. I beat myself up over a 96 percent--that 4 leftover meant so much to me. So, self-harm took over and thrust me into a deep depression, which eventually led to a hospitalization.

Thankfully, I've been over a year free from self-harm. It is truly an addiction that deserves immediate professional attention.

Aaaand that was uncomfortably self-revealing. I just wanted to share it because maybe somebody could benefit from it.
You're not alone.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

I have never done any self harming, other than indulging in a bit of junk food after emotional distress.....which isn't great, but I never hated myself enough, I guess. I was never a perfectionist, except for tying to perfect my love.....

I do have a ENFP friend who self-harms whenever her boyfriend is abusive to her. But her self-harm is odd..... she goes out and lets some loser pick her up at a bar and treat her with disrespect and use her. And she never tells her boyfriend about it. It is very odd because it is against all her values, but she continues to act out this way.

 

[chickpea]

I knew an ESTP guy that had cuts all along one arm and cigarette burns on the other. he flaunted them and talked about it all the time.

/not type related

 

[ReadingRainbows]

Self Harm is an issue of coping mechanisms.

 

[Chrysanthea]

As with SearchingforPeace, I resort to basic human pleasures to distract myself from my own emotional pain, instead of masking it with a lesser, more physical pain. Though I can recall once I tried it out of curiosity to see how it would affect my own distresses a few years back. I don't think I can contribute much except agree with what has been said: Anyone who feels such negative emotions may resort to releasing it through physical means. Whether by self-harm or by indulging in food, sex, drugs, etc.

 

[Mane]

Theoretically you could make a few connections between that and type that would look like they make sense (Most easily with regards to instinctual variants)... But I kind of doubt if it would actually be applicable. At the risk of using myself as anecdotal evidence, I used to do it - mostly in my late teens - and I am pretty sure if you'd list the types by how likely it is you'd think they'd do that, ENTP 7s wouldn't rank very high.