Self-Injury Awareness Day 2024: Self-harm is a toxic behavioural pattern. Often people who inflict harm on themselves are patients of certain mental health disorders. Depression, stress, anxiety are some of the conditions that can push a person to the edge of inflicting harm on themselves. Self-harm is often done with the intention of gaining control over one’s body. However, it is important to raise awareness of this and ensure that people who do self-harm get professional help as soon as possible.
Self-Injury Awareness Day is observed every year to raise awareness of this. As we gear up to observe the day for this year, here are a few things that we should keep in mind.
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Date:
Every year, Self-Injury Awareness Day is observed on March 1. This year, Self-Injury Awareness Day falls on a Friday.
History:
The history of Self-Injury Awareness Day dates back to the 1800s when French Psychiatrist Philippe Pinel documented the tendencies of some of his psychiatric patients in inflicting self-harm. In the early 20th century, self-harm was declared as one of the symptoms of mental illness. Treatment through institutionalisation and medication also started. In the 1990s, self-harm gained more momentum as healthcare professionals and researchers started exploring this behavioural habit more extensively. In 1995, the first International Conference on Self-Mutilation was organised and in 1997, the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury was established.
Significance:
This day is observed with the intention of helping people who inflict self-harm on themselves and are too scared of asking for professional help. It helps in raising awareness of the importance of addressing this unhealthy behavioural pattern and getting help to the patients as soon as possible. In the present times, a large number of organisations and advocacy groups and professionals assist people who exhibit symptoms of self-harm behaviours.
