Tw: “Self harm”: self harm and “do know harm”

This is a follow onto my previous post about”Self harm”

So basically in the previous post I discussed the intent etc. of “self harm”

It’s now occurring to me that this discussion meshes with how doctors discuss harm. Dr. oats famously include the phrase “do know harm”. however, as I’ve written on Twitter before, in some places the phrase “do no harm” has been removed from doctor oaths because “cutting people like during surgery is harm”. I’ve critique that mechanistic definition of harm before but if we’re going with that one, sure “self harm” is automatically harm but so is getting a tattoo or piercing or any other body modification.

I’m not saying things that are currently labelled “self harm” are good for people just because of intentions. I think there’s more nuance then just labelling everything as “self harm”. For example, surgery is ultimately considered OK by doctors because the benefits outweigh the “harm”. For things like cutting etc. That’s not necessarily true especially given the lack of sterile equipment etc.. Still, I take conceptual umbrage do a complete lack of consideration of intent, risks and benefits when people engage in behaviors that are labelled”Self harm” especially as many do so given the lack of other options addressing the distress.

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