self-harm

American  

[self-hahrm] / ˈsɛlfˈhɑrm /

noun

1. Formerly self-mutilation.  Also called self-injury.  deliberate nonsuicidal injury to one’s own body tissue, as cutting or burning the skin, or pulling out hair, in a physical manifestation of emotional distress.

   Self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse were reported among victims of bullying.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to hurt oneself deliberately, without suicidal intention, as a physical manifestation of emotional distress.

   I self-harm to release the anxiety, but then I feel so much shame that I have to self-harm again to relieve that.

self-harm British  

noun

1. the practice of cutting or otherwise wounding oneself, usually considered as indicating psychological disturbance

---

Other Word Forms

• self-harming noun

Etymology

Origin of self-harm

First recorded in 1610–20 self-harm for def. 1 and in 1940–45 self-harm for def. 2; self- ( def. ) + harm ( def. )

Example Sentences

The spokesperson added that the government's professional learning resource on supporting children and young people's mental health, which includes learning on suicide and self-harm, is free and available to all school staff.

From BBC

"If a young person searches the internet for suicide or self-harm content, the first result they see will be a helpline - not a harmful online rabbit hole," Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety Commissioner, said in the lead-up to the new rules.

From BBC

The company said that its chatbot, Gemini, is “designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm.”

From Los Angeles Times

The firm added that Gemini was designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm.

From BBC

“Gemini is designed not to encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm. Our models generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations and we devote significant resources to this, but unfortunately AI models are not perfect,” a Google spokesman said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal