What is self-injury? Self-injury can be thought of as any way of hurting yourself, using any method at your disposal. It may include methods which break the skin, resulting in bleeding, to methods which do not break the skin and just causing pain. There are many common misconceptions about self-injury. Some people believe that some individuals self-injure themselves for attention. While that might be true of a small minority, it must be pointed out that most people DO NOT self-injure themselves for attention. It is a coping mechanism to cope with emotional pain. Most of the publicity about self-injury mostly mentions teenage girls, there is probably almost as many males as females who self-injure themselves, however, they never really make the news. The muscian Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers was one of the few male self-injurers that made the news. Brian Warner, who is better known as Marilyn Manson, and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails were among many others that were ignored by the main stream press. Most people who self-injure themselves also suffer from depression and other related illnesses and disorders. These may include but are not limited to Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Dissociative Identity Disorder (which was formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder). Its quite unclear and subject to much debate as to whether tattooing and body piercing constitute a mention as possible types of self-injury. There are some dangers that people who self-injure risk. These include infections if their wounds are not treated properly, and if their cuts are caused by non-sterile or dirty cutting instruments. It is also very important not to share cutting implements with other people, as many diseases, including HIV and AIDS, can be passed on this way. It goes without comment, that cutters are also at risk of permanent scarring from their cuts and other wounds.