The experience of non-suicidal self-harm as described in online forums may share experiential characteristics with substance use disorder, a new study suggests.

An analysis of user posts on social media platform Reddit has revealed that those who deliberately harm their body without intending to die are likely to exhibit symptoms indicative of mild, moderate or severe addiction, researchers say.

“The take-home message is that many people … who engage in non-suicidal self-injury experience it like an addiction, whether that is a form of cravings and urges, struggling to quit or cut back, subjective experiences of ‘tolerance’, or interpersonal consequences,” said study author Dr Brenda Curtis (PhD).

“A second major point is that the actual language we think of as originating in substance use disorder recovery circles … words like ‘clean’ and ‘relapse’, and the counting of days without self-injury, has been adapted to these online support groups for non-suicidal self-injury.”