Why is self harm romanticized?

We love stories which have conflict. We love stories where a character faces, and overcomes, an obstacle. We love stories with characters who struggle. Self-harm is one of the most iconic and tangible symbols of struggle with a mental illness. read more

We romanticize self-harm because harm shows a struggle and we love struggles, but we shouldn’t. Self-harm isn’t romantic and beautiful. It’s a by-product of mental illness. It’s not positive. read more

But what I do know is that I see self-harm romanticized all over. Taking pictures of self-harm is quite popular. Some people post pictures of cuts with black and white filters (maybe an attempt to be artistic, or maybe too look less shocking than bright red blood). read more

The glamorization of self-harm and suicide on social media websites (such as Tumblr and Instagram) has led to an incorrect perspective of the seriousness of these disorders, as well as the desire to"fit in", which is then triggering these tendencies in many suspectable users. read more