Alcohol and Self-Harm

The common assumption of self-harm is that it only manifests itself in the cutting of wrists, arms and legs.  There are however many behaviours that are viewed as self-harm.  The Mental Health Foundation give 7 behaviours that should be acknowledged as self-harm:

1. cutting
2. burning
3. scalding
4. banging or scratching one's own body
5. breaking bones
6. hair pulling
7. ingesting toxic substances or objects

Alcohol is one of the mentioned toxic substances which should be paid careful attention to.  There is currently debate over applying a minimum price to alcohol, the story has been documented on the BBC Health pages.  This is argued as an attempt to reduce excessive consumption of alcohol.  

So what does this mean to self harmers?

Not all binge drinking happens with the same intent.  However, it may be seen as a distraction or escapism from reality.  It can therefore be used as a method of self-harm if the intent is to inflict harm.  The minimum price strategy, recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), may be "too simplistic" in its suggestion that "the UK's alcohol problems are down to price",  as noted by Andrew Opie, food policy director at the British Railway Consortium.  It is highly likely that this is the case for people using alcohol as a means of escaping troubles which the individual cannot cope with.

The current issues with alcohol highlights that when dealing with self-harm there must be an awareness of all aspects of a person's behaviour.  Alcohol usage may be a factor that is overlooked, yet something that needs to be dealt with in a way that can help the individual.

For further information on the relationship between alcohol and self-harm visit NHS Health Quality   for a study of the issue.