Young people are more and more worried about their mental health when it comes to self-harm, especially non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). The main goal of this narrative review is to look into the psychological processes that cause NSSI, focusing on cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal factors. Keywords like “self-harm,” “emotion regulation,” and “psychological mechanisms” were used to find relevant English-language studies published between January 2000 and June 2025 in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Findings show that people who hurt themselves often have trouble controlling their emotions, are hard on themselves, have problems with other people, and feel disconnected. These actions are unhealthy ways of dealing with negative feelings or regaining control. To make successful interventions, it is essential to understand how these things work. Therapies that are effective, such as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), focus on these mental processes and can help individuals stop hurting themselves in the long run.
Kirar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.