Understanding Self-Injury
Self-injury is the practice of deliberately harming the body without suicidal intent. People self-injure in many ways to varying degrees of severity. The practice is not exclusive to one gender or age group.
The root of this struggle is primarily spiritual and emotional rather than physical. Self-injury often develops as a coping mechanism for overwhelming feelings, trauma, or situations that feel out of control. While the physical act of self-harm may temporarily provide relief or a sense of control, it never addresses the underlying pain and ultimately deepens the cycle of suffering.
If you are struggling with self-injury, know that you are not alone, and healing is possible. God sees your pain, understands your struggle, and extends His grace and healing to you.
Common Forms and Reasons for Self-Injury
Self-injury can include cutting, intense scratching, burning, hitting, piercing, or pulling out hair for the purpose of harming the body. The following are common reasons people engage in self-harm:
To Take Control
When life is out of control, it can be comforting to exert control over something. Your body becomes the one thing you feel you can control when everything else feels chaotic.
To Express Pain
Self-injury can be used as a way to make emotional pain visible to others. People often hide injuries, yet hope that someone discovers them and understands their silent cry for help.
To Escape Reality
Physical pain can be used as a distraction when real life is overwhelming. The immediate sensation of physical pain can temporarily distract from emotional agony.
To Feel Something
Emotionally numb people can become desperate to experience any sensation, even if it's painful. Pain becomes preferable to the numbness of emotional dissociation.
To Get a Natural "High"
The endorphin rush that occurs with self-harm can be addictive. Your body's natural pain-relieving chemicals create a temporary sense of relief or euphoria.
To Punish Oneself
Self-harm may be an attempt to atone for things that cause guilt or shame—either things you have done or things that have been done to you. You may believe you deserve punishment.
To Protect Oneself
Abuse victims may attempt to make their bodies less attractive as a defense mechanism against becoming a future target of abuse. Self-injury becomes a misguided form of self-protection.
The Problem with Self-Injury
Regardless of why a person harms his or her body, self-injury cannot fix the underlying problem. And, like most addictions, unhealthy methods of coping with pain often become a source of pain themselves. Secret habits lead to isolation and loneliness, perpetuating the cycle of hurt. What begins as a coping mechanism gradually becomes a compulsion—and ultimately, enslaves you.
Biblical Insights on God's Love and Healing
God Loves You and Sees Your Pain
If you are trapped in pain or feel alone, know that God sees you. He has not forgotten or forsaken you. He is pursuing you, calling out for you to turn to him so that he can heal you.
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory…"
— Matthew 12:20
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
— Matthew 11:28
God Understands Your Pain
God understands and cares about your pain. Christ suffered for sin to offer you eternal life. Every tear you shed is counted and remembered by God.
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?"
— Psalm 56:8
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
— Hebrews 4:15
Only God Is in Control
Only God is in control and He is good. Any sense of control we experience is an illusion; control has always belonged to God, who works in all things with perfect knowledge and love.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
— Proverbs 19:21
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
— Romans 8:28
Self-Injury Enslaves You
Self-injury enslaves you. Your habit is not working for you; you are working for it. What promised relief has become your master, demanding more and more to provide the same temporary escape.
"Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
— Romans 6:16
"They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved."
— 2 Peter 2:19
Christ Has Already Paid for Your Sin
Christ has already paid for your sin. Thanks to the blood of Jesus—the only blood that saves—no one, not even you yourself, can condemn you. We are healed by Christ's wounds.
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
— Romans 8:1, 33-34
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."
— Isaiah 53:5
Your Body Is Precious
Your body is precious. God has entrusted you with a physical body that will someday be gloriously transformed. You are its steward, not its owner, and God calls you to treat it with respect and care.
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
— 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
— Romans 12:1
Willpower Alone Won't Heal You
Willpower won't heal you. Anything short of complete spiritual transformation by the power of God in you is only behavior modification and is bound to fail. You need God's power, not just your own determination.
"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord."
— Jeremiah 17:5
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."
— Galatians 5:16
Next Steps Toward Healing and Freedom
- Ask Christ to heal you and establish a personal relationship with Him. Turn to Him in your pain and ask Him to be your Healer and Lord (Romans 10:13). This is the foundation for all lasting change.
- Identify and address the underlying need behind your self-injury. The next time you feel the urge to hurt yourself, slow down, pray, and consider your motivation. What are you trying to cope with? What need are you trying to meet? Ask God for courage to address your pain and let others know your temptation (Proverbs 14:8).
- Practice communicating your thoughts and feelings. Find a place where you can talk without fear of judgment, like a re:generation recovery group or a counselor. Commit to stepping out of secrecy. Isolation feeds the cycle; community breaks it (1 John 1:7).
- Prepare for vulnerable situations well in advance. Identify your stressors that often lead you to harm yourself and decide how you will respond to them should temptation come. Practice alternative coping skills before you need them (1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:13).
- Develop healthy coping strategies. Replace self-injury with healthier outlets: exercise, journaling, art, music, talking to a trusted friend, prayer, or grounding techniques. Build a toolkit of responses for when urges come.
- Do not despair when you mess up. If you slip and injure yourself again, it does not erase your progress or your commitment to healing. God's grace and His love is unconditional. Get back up and continue moving forward (Romans 8:1).
- Self-injury often goes hand in hand with depression and trauma. Consider working with a Christian counselor or therapist who can address the underlying emotional and spiritual roots of your self-harm. Professional help is not a sign of weakness; it is wisdom.
Hope for Healing
If you have been trapped in the cycle of self-injury—if you've used pain to cope with pain, control to cope with chaos, and hidden wounds to hide hidden suffering—know that there is another way. There is healing. There is hope. God sees every wound on your body and every wound on your heart. He is not disgusted by you. He is not angry at you. He is moved with compassion for you. Jesus suffered physical pain on the cross to purchase your healing and restoration. His blood washes clean every shame, every guilt, every wound. When you turn to Him in faith and surrender your pain to His care, He begins the work of transformation from the inside out. The urges to harm yourself may not disappear overnight, but they will lose their power. Community will replace isolation. Purpose will replace despair. God's presence will replace the numbness. The path to healing requires honesty, vulnerability, and faith. It means reaching out when you want to hide. It means talking about your pain when you want to express it through harm. It means believing that you are worthy of healing even when you don't feel like it. Take the first step today. Reach out to someone you trust. Call a counselor. Join a support group. Most importantly, cry out to Jesus and ask Him to heal you. In Him, you will find the comfort, control, and purpose you have been desperately seeking through self-harm. You will find true healing.