MYTH: "You're only doing it as a fashion statement."
Those who self injure are not doing it as part of a fashion statement or image. There are a few who do, but their attention-getting tactics are not those of a true suffer. This website is not for 'trend' cutters but for those who actually have a problem with SI.

MYTH: "It's self-art, just like tattooing."
This is not 'art.' Art is constructive and productive, SI is destructive and dangerous. Writing off self injury as 'art' is just a way of telling yourself you don't have to worry about it. Obviously this does not help. If someone preforms a ritual or artistic modification on their body the intent is different. Body modification is not the same as self injury. However, both trigger the release of endorphines and so those who self injure may find they also enjoy tattooing or another form of productive body modification. But if you are hurting yourself and you wish you could stop, it is not art.

MYTH: "It's just for attention."
Self injury is not always done for attention. Very often, people go to great lengths to hide what they do. Usually, SI was started as a means of coping with something negative in the self-injurer's life. It can spiral into something akin to addiction, as the body releases endorphines during injury and the desire to feel the chemical rush can become regular. These people want to stop but do not yet know how.

MYTH: "People who self injure are suicidal."
Those who Self Injure are SELDOM suicidal. Depressed, yes, but not suicidal. Failed suicides are not the same as self injury and should not be treated the same way. In some cases, people have been known to self injure in states of manic joy.

MYTH "People who are doing this know exactly why and should just stop."
People who do this do not always know why. Sometimes there really can be no reason, and sometimes they themselves don't know why this is happening to them. If it has become habitual, there may not even be a reason any longer.

MYTH "All people who self injure are masochists."
Self injurers are not masochistic. Some masochists self injure, but that does not mean all self injurers are masochists. While the endorphine rush from an injury can be habit forming there is a distinct difference between loving pain and becoming addicted to the chemical reaction to it the body puts out. Remember that a person with a self injuring problem does want to recover. A masochist does not.

MYTH "The big problem here is self injuring."
The big problem is almost never self injuring. Self injury is a sign that something else is wrong, and the path towards recovery lies not in addressing the symptom (in this case SI) but in addressing the problem.

MYTH "Everyone who self injures is an emo kid."
Self injury is prevelent amoung teens, college students and adults. A study in the 1980s showed that it was housewives who were more prone to self injury than any other group. This statistic has in all likelyhood changed, but the fact remains. A study in the UK showed that one in every 130 is prone to self injury. I really hope that's not the amount of emo kids out there, or there's an even BIGGER problem on our hands!