inspired by that "can forcing yourself to not sleep be self harm" ask, i have a related question. can self harm be like, emotional/mental as well as physical? like, intentionally causing yourself mental stress/triggering yourself/etc? i've never been clear on that point.
I would definitely say so. The term “self-harm” is pretty explicit in it’s meaning, it’s just that people have taken it to just mean “cutting” for whatever reason.
Just as physical and emotional abuse are both still abuse but achieved in different ways, emotional and physical self-harm are still self-harm.
I would see intentionally pissing off loved ones in order for them to react negatively towards you as self-harm for instance. If you are doing something in order to cause harm to yourself then it counts as self-harm in my book. It could be they are doing that to get away from the emotional turmoil in themselves, to punish themselves, or to express how much they hate themselves.
I hope this clears it up for you!
~ Vay