Is self harm a sin?

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Lea101

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Some people say it’s not, because it’s your body etc?

Others said it is wrong because it’s not “ours”, but God’s, and we should treat it like a temple. (And by the way, I’m not talking about alcoholism, drugs or anything like that, but more of cutting, burning or any form of instant self injurt people inflict on themselves)

Is it a sin (something you need to confess)? What if it’s a way to relieve anger or whatever emotion and it’s not a threat to the person? (He or she does not cut deeply, but just so that it bleeds slightly, for example? The person finds relief in this, and is not suffering from any mental illness)

And if yes, what kind of sin is it? And why is it wrong?

Bible verse/quotes from the catechism would be appreciated 🙂

Thanks in advance xx
(I don’t know if this is in the right forum though)
 
I don’t know about a sin, but self harm is not a way to relieve anger or any other emotion. If this is you, OP, you need to get some proper help for learning how to let your emotions out without harming yourself. It isn’t productive, and it can be indicative for a mental illness, because “relief” is never something that should be felt for deliberately making oneself bleed.

Lou
 
The key word here I believe is harm. Is it wrong or in yours words a sin to harm another? If so why would it not be the same to harm yourself? Blessings.
 
A person who engages in self-harm suffers from mental illness by definition. It is not psychologically healthy to desire to harm yourself.

You are beautifully and wonderfully made, a creation of God who willed your existence. It is not in keeping with your dignity to be cruel to your own body. If you desire to do so, please seek help. You can learn other methods to cope that are not harmful.
 
I will try to tread carefully here.

Before any discussion of sin, one must first see if it is healthy. Harming yourself out or anger or any other strong negative emotion is unhealthy and potentially dangerous. First and foremost the person needs to talk to someone about better ways to deal with these emotions. Cutting, skin picking, and other types of self harm are not harmless, but indicate deeper issues that need to be addressed.

In general, self harm would be considered a sin against the 5th commandment. This can be seen in the Catechism 2288 which reads: “Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.”

As you also point out, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians:18-20 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that should be glorified:
1 Corinthians:18-20
Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.
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Normally this passage is in reference to sexual immorality, but self harm is just as dangerous to one’s soul, so these passages would also apply.

Just as you wouldn’t go carve on a statue out of anger, you should not damage what is God’s. In of itself anger, jealousy, etc. are sins on their own and harming one’s self does not glorify God.

Is it a mortal sin? It depends on why someone is doing it. Being a sin against the 5th commandment would make it grave matter so the real question is is someone is freely choosing to do it or if it is because of an uncontrollable compulsion. If it is a compulsion then the culpability is reduced.
 
From the Catechism:
Respect for health

2288 Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.
 
Lea101 said:
… What if it’s a way to relieve anger or whatever emotion and it’s not a threat to the person? (He or she does not cut deeply, but just so that it bleeds slightly, for example? The person finds relief in this, and is not suffering from any mental illness)
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My own opinion: There is no such thing as self-harm which is not a threat to the person. It seems like a minor injury, as you might incur falling off a bicycle, which of course is not sinful and usually heals nicely. One difference is that it is intentional, which means there is a combination of psychological disorder and physical injury. Another is that self-harm is often repeated and therefore may compromise the integrity of the skin later in life (i.e., scar).
 
Lea101 said:
Is it a sin (something you need to confess)? What if it’s a way to relieve anger or whatever emotion and it’s not a threat to the person? (He or she does not cut deeply, but just so that it bleeds slightly, for example? The person finds relief in this, and is not suffering from any mental illness)

And if yes, what kind of sin is it? And why is it wrong?

Bible verse/quotes from the catechism would be appreciated 🙂
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Take this, from the CCC, into consideration:

2264** Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality.** Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow:

This also falls under the fifth commandment.

If it leaves a scar, the physical damage, however slight, is permanent. And visible. It’s a reminder to the evil one, of his victory over the cutter.
 
Lou2U said:
I don’t know about a sin, but self harm is not a way to relieve anger or any other emotion. If this is you, OP, you need to get some proper help for learning how to let your emotions out without harming yourself. It isn’t productive, and it can be indicative for a mental illness, because “relief” is never something that should be felt for deliberately making oneself bleed.

Lou
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Relief is felt bc of the endorphins released when someone hurts themselves right, people do activities that release them to feel better, so it seems hard to believe that lightly injuring yourself would be terrible? It is depressing but how to argue when the person seems better off doing it?
 
Do not murder. Fifth commandment.

Or in general, the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself

The way you love yourself will reflect to the way you love your neighbor.

I hope this makes sense.
 
puzzledtoo said:
The key word here I believe is harm. Is it wrong or in yours words a sin to harm another? If so why would it not be the same to harm yourself? Blessings.
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I would assume it is because the other person did not ask to be harmed, but the person doing it herself/himself allows it to happen?

I do need to work on my faith damn
 
Lea, NO ONE is EVER “better off” because they cut themselves or hurt themselves deliberately.

If you are even thinking of doing this, STOP, and in the strongest possible terms, GET HELP. Nothing you are describing is good for you; it is all bad, and a sign of an illness (perhaps a serious one).
 
therese14 said:
Do not murder. Fifth commandment.

Or in general, the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself

The way you love yourself will reflect to the way you love your neighbor.

I hope this makes sense.
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I don’t think that’s true. A person who hates herself could be extremely loving towards others
 
My mate used to give himelf black eyes if he was having a stressful moment and occasionally had to explain it to the boss the next morning! (He’s autistic.)

I just shut down instead.

It’s pointless trying to be casuistic on someone’s behalf and we certainly ought not to be putting them in the spotlight.
 
Vic_Taltrees_UK said:
My mate used to give himelf black eyes if he was having a stressful moment and occasionally had to explain it to the boss the next morning! (He’s autistic.)

I just shut down instead.

It’s pointless trying to be casuistic on someone’s behalf and we certainly ought not to be putting them in the spotlight.
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Yikes, is he okay now?
 
Usige said:
I will try to tread carefully here.

Before any discussion of sin, one must first see if it is healthy. Harming yourself out or anger or any other strong negative emotion is unhealthy and potentially dangerous. First and foremost the person needs to talk to someone about better ways to deal with these emotions. Cutting, skin picking, and other types of self harm are not harmless, but indicate deeper issues that need to be addressed.

In general, self harm would be considered a sin against the 5th commandment. This can be seen in the Catechism 2288 which reads: “Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.”

As you also point out, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians:18-20 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that should be glorified:

Normally this passage is in reference to sexual immorality, but self harm is just as dangerous to one’s soul, so these passages would also apply.

Just as you wouldn’t go carve on a statue out of anger, you should not damage what is God’s. In of itself anger, jealousy, etc. are sins on their own and harming one’s self does not glorify God.

Is it a mortal sin? It depends on why someone is doing it. Being a sin against the 5th commandment would make it grave matter so the real question is is someone is freely choosing to do it or if it is because of an uncontrollable compulsion. If it is a compulsion then the culpability is reduced.
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Isn’t the 5th commandment about honouring your parents?

But if doing anything that harms your body is wrong, wouldn’t that mean eating unhealthy foods, for example, is wrong too? Or smoking/etc excessively?
 
Lea101 said:
Isn’t the 5th commandment about honouring your parents?
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In the Catholic numbering, the 5th commandment is “Thou shall not kill”. Honor your parents is the 4th in Catholic numbering or 5th in protestant numbering.
But if doing anything that harms your body is wrong, wouldn’t that mean eating unhealthy foods, for example, is wrong too? Or smoking/etc excessively?
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It certainly can be if done to excess. Anything that is harmful and done with disregard to one’s health can be a sin against the 5th. If you speed or weave in and out of traffic without regard for safety of yourself or others? It is a sin against the 5th. Our bodies are not our own and should be treated with deference to He who created us.
 
Lea101 said:
Relief is felt bc of the endorphins released when someone hurts themselves right, people do activities that release them to feel better, so it seems hard to believe that lightly injuring yourself would be terrible? It is depressing but how to argue when the person seems better off doing it?
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No person is better off self harming their body. Cutting is not a productive way to deal with emotions because it doesn’t help the situation, why a person feels the way they do and why they respond in the way they do. It does show a some kind of mental illness because it’s an unhealthy way to handle emotions.
Lea101 said:
I don’t think that’s true. A person who hates herself could be extremely loving towards others
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They could. But imagine how much more loving they could be to others knowing that they are happy with themselves, and they can accept themselves for who they are.

I don’t know if you’re asking this because you are in this situation, but I know people who used to self harm. I knew them when they used to self harm, and not one of them did so because they were happy. Sometimes they found it hard to stop themselves at “lightly injuring”. Not one of them were better off self harming, and the endorphins released? They didn’t last, so they repeated the behaviour. When they eventually got professional help, the self harm stopped. Why? Because doing so is dangerous, unhealthy and it was not a productive way to deal with their problems. Yes, they were loving to others before but now they are so much happier and content within themselves because they learnt to love themselves.

Lou
 
What comes to mind is the fact (undisputed in the “teaching church” hence a fact) that a motivation of independence from God or man is a evil motivation. Maybe you could honestly ask yourself, “When I hurt myself, do I contribute a good that furthers the unity in the body of Christ or do I incinerate the body of Christ?”

We need solidarity in order to be an effective witness in mission, “ad gentes”. To escape from this is to toss out your context of baptism of which is the same context in being saved.

In the dialogue written by Saint Catherine of Siena, particularly in the section called the treatise of obedience, where it explains the meaning of hundredfold, she speaks of the soul becoming an open book in the pursuit of Charity/Self-knowledge. If you were to reveal self harm behavior to the church goers, would you have something in common? Why be independent from them and still expect to find a home in heaven.

I am not suggesting to reveal your sins to those other then a priest, but to provide balance I say the open book context is not to be altogether excluded. My point being that if you hide anything, even if it ought to be hidden, “inquantum est” points to the evil of it.
 
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