Self Medication, or Self Harm?

What is the difference between self medication and self harm? How can one differentiate between the two?

I suppose that depends on what one considers self harm. Self medication doesn't necessarily have to involve pharmaceuticals. Self medication can be comfort food or a relaxing hobby or any number of other ways in which one can relax or de-stress that don't involve things like nicotine or excessive drinking. If you believe that such actions are harmful to a person because they are not getting professional help with the use of pharmaceutical drugs, then yes I suppose you could say there is no difference between self harm and self medication.

Is there no difference, or can you not see a difference?

I don't understand. I said that self medication could be different from self harm unless you considered all forms of self medication harmful. So, while I think there is a difference, that difference comes with a caveat.

You did not say there was a difference.

I'm not sure what it is that you are trying to say with this question.
Because trying to compare self medication to self harm is ,as the saying goes ' apples to oranges'.
When I have a headache, I self medicate with a couple of over the counter aspirins. No self harm involved.
There are people who take a dinner fork and gouge bloody wounds in their bodies, no self medicating involved.

Screwed up. I double posted.

I said there was a difference if someone thought that there was a difference between not getting professional help and self harm. Your question is a bit vague as it stands, and thus required a qualified answer. That very clearly shows that I can see a difference. If I comment on why there is a difference, then I think it logically follows that I can see the difference.

I would like for you to give your answer's to these two questions .

Let me ask this then:

A: What do YOU think is the difference between self medication and self harm is?




Self Medication can be anything from meditation to taking prescription pills (the recommended dose) for an ailment. For me, poetry and tea are my self medication.

Self Harm can be as extreme as taking 4-6 ibuprofen at once, slitting your wrists, taking any prescription medication way over the recommended daily dose.

It can be differentiated by one's actions. Example, John has ibuprofen. He only takes two when he has bad headaches. The bottle contained 200 pills. Within the past month, 4 was used. Keith also has ibuprofen. He says he utilizes it to feel better. Keith takes 4 pills at once every 3 days.

Medication and harm seems to imply the opposite to one another to me. And whether one is doing either to self probably depends on whose viewpoint you ask, although a physician’s opinion might carry the most weight on it.

What is the difference between self medication and self harm? How can one differentiate between the two?

I might be wrong, but it seems like some people here are purposefully being a bit obtuse.... though perhaps I am wrong on that point.

Anyway...

Part 1: Is see this question as addressing the issue of someone taking medication, but deciding to decide when and how to take the medication, as opposed to following instructions. Example: I have a friend who is diagnosed as border line personality disorder (at least I think that is what its called). She is prescribed a certain medication to be taken in a certain dosage... each day. However, she does what some call "self medications". That is, if she is feeling good for a month or so, she decides that she is "better" and stops taking the medication. This has resulted in her living her life in a roller coaster of ups and downs, and over time has diminished the effectiveness of the medication. Her pattern of "self medication" has become a pattern of "self harm".

Part 2: I have another friend who essentially "self medicates" with booze. When he comes home at night after a stressful day at the office, he "self medicates" with a martini or two. Based on his description he does not do this everyday, but only on the days when stress was especially high. AA would probably disagree with me, but I don't view this sort of "self medication" as "self harm"... if he drank very single day, especially in excess then it would be "self harm".

Part 3: I recently moved to Ojai, CA. There are a lot of very earthy people here... modern day hippies and hippies from the 60-70's that grew up. From my observation many do not go to doctors (I don't know if this is a money thing or not, but it seems more "cultural" ). They, from my observation, "self medicate" with herbal remedies. Example: St. John's Wort is taken for depression treatment. They are not being prescribed St John's Wort, so this is definitely "self medication". Whether or not it works, I don't know... but they claim it does. If it does, this is an example of "self medication" that is not "self harm"


Finally: If I am completely of topic here with that answer... sorry.

What do I think? I think that, at it's core, self harm can be characterized as destructive to someone's body and mind. Excessive drinking and pharmaceutical abuse would be examples of such.

Perspective.

When I have a headache, I self medicate with a couple of over the counter aspirins.
There are people who take a dinner fork and gouge bloody wounds in their bodies doing self harm .

I figure the only way self medicating and self harm can 'find' a middle ground would be if Keith or John were to drink a half a bottle of jack daniels ( self medicating) then decided they needed some more ibuprofen , climb into the driver side of a car ( self harm). Not to mention anyone unlucky enough to be in a car at any point of the road that Keith or John was traveling on .