Mental imagining of self-harm can increase urge and heighten the risk of people harming themselves
The study is the first attempt to track real-time occurrences of mental imagining of self-harm and how it relates to short-term fluctuations in risk
![A teenage girl sat on a floor in shadow.](https://d3bpgcke55gfwt.cloudfront.net/rails/active_storage/representations/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBNnZFRVE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--de4d8fa9077e5127739e2840f72acd24b4c402a1/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdDRG9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2RkhKbGMybDZaVjkwYjE5c2FXMXBkRnNIYVFKWUFta0NMQUU2Q25OaGRtVnlld2s2RTNOMVluTmhiWEJzWlY5dGIyUmxTU0lIYjI0R093WlVPZ3B6ZEhKcGNGUTZEbWx1ZEdWeWJHRmpaVlE2REhGMVlXeHBkSGxwVUE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--42754237235ba1e6f9325deaf83c5a2657141cd3/GettyImages-1308753258._1280x720.jpg)
Self-harm in young people is on the rise. In England, one in four girls and one in ten boys aged 16 to 24 have engaged in self-harm, damaging their own body without the intention to end their lives. The primary reason is to help cope with intense and unwanted emotions. Self-harm behaviour can become repetitive for some young people, and we need to know more about what’s influencing a person’s in-the-moment decision-making. Through this study, we found that when urge is high, an individual’s mind becomes pre-occupied with imagining the actions, bodily sensations, and emotional benefits of self-harm. Given we know that imagining future events can motivate and guide our actions, this also suggests mental imagery may be harnessed to help young people develop alternative coping strategies.
Julie Ji
Lecturer in Psychology
The study is the first attempt to track real-time occurrences of mental imagining of self-harm and how it relates to short-term fluctuations in risk
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