Reply Life-Iz-Good

Hey man sounds like a tough spot- it think the most important thing is that she has you as a friend. That knowledge can be one of the best resources for someone to never go over the edge, even if the small self harm mechanisms do lead to more severe forms. I think its great you research outside academic sources to see if there are scientific evidence to help demystify why people do this when we care about them and they don't want to actually die. As a laymen, i dont have the most educated answer but from personal experience of friends i did have someone give me some answers in how they stopped self harming themselves. What happens when you self harm, similar to a manic episode, its not your normal personality or behavior. This means there's an unnatural flow of blood, energy and the dopamine/endorphins you wisely researched that make this a manic situation. The best thing to do when she feels like this is to IMMEDIATELY find a external behavior to break this cycle. One way is a physical break, this could be, drink 20 ounces of water and do 10 push-ups or go outside and just walk for ten minutes. Another is a creative or artistic break which could be drawing,blogging about how they feel, writing or painting or anything that can break the mental flow of self harming. Another could be calling a person and having them talk them through it. Obviously this last one places a lot of pressure on a friend who could inadvertently miss a call or have their phone off which isn't fair for the friend but it can be a suitable solution. I know this wont be found in some awesome scientific journal, but sometimes the hardest situations require basic approaches and not some magical scientific formula. Hope this helps!