Revisiting Social Stigma in Non-suicidal Self-injury: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in our community. Yet, there is a significant discrepancy between the number of individuals engaging in NSSI and those who seek treatment for NSSI. This discrepancy can be due to the high social stigma associated with the behavior. The impact of NSSI stigma is significant and can impair the quality of life in the individuals engaging in NSSI, delay help-seeking, reduce access to mental health care and further fuel misinformation. Even though the symptomatology, risks, and demographics of NSSI have received attention in terms of research, there is limited literature on NSSI stigma and its consequences. With that background set, this review provides a bird’s-eye view of the different levels of stigma in NSSI (public, self, and health care), associated discrimination, the various aspects of such stigmatization (NSSI-related language, physical scarring, misinformation, the media), and, finally, the collaborative clinical-outreach interventions for mitigating NSSI-associated social stigma. If NSSI is indeed recognized as a clinical disorder, future research would need to focus on these constructs of stigma and treat them with the same importance as the one given to clinical studies of intervention and symptomatology in NSSI.