When characters self-harm in extreme situations, they may have the following psychological motivations: 1. **Emotional Regulation** - **Releasing Pressure**: When individuals face unbearable pressure, such as long-term academic burdens, work pressure, family conflicts, etc., self-harm can temporarily distract them from the pain of the body and relieve the tension and anxiety accumulated in their hearts. For example, when students are facing the pressure of going to college and cannot effectively relieve it, they may choose to cut themselves with a blade to get a different kind of emotional release. - **Expressing Pain**: When words cannot fully express the deep pain in their hearts, self-harm becomes an intuitive way of expression. For example, after suffering a major emotional trauma, such as a breakup or betrayal, the person may feel that only through physical pain can others understand their inner suffering. 2. **Self-Punishment** - **Inner Guilt**: Because of making serious mistakes or thinking that they cannot meet certain expectations, they feel a strong sense of guilt and punish themselves through self-harm. For example, an employee who causes significant losses to the team due to negligence may burn himself with a cigarette butt to relieve his inner self-blame. - **Self-loathing**: Extremely dissatisfied with one's appearance, personality, ability, etc., and developing self-loathing emotions, trying to hurt this "self" that one hates by self-mutilation. For example, a girl who feels that she is not pretty enough may leave scars on her arms, thinking that this will make her better. 3. **Identity and sense of belonging** - **Integration into a specific group**: In some youth groups or subculture circles, self-mutilation may be regarded as a unique symbol or behavior. In order to integrate into this group and gain a sense of identity and belonging, individuals choose to imitate self-mutilation. For example, in some bad juvenile gangs, members show each other's "loyalty" and unique identity by having scars left by self-mutilation on their bodies. - **Expressing personality**: Some individuals use self-mutilation as a means of being different and showing personality. Through this extreme behavior, they show their rebelliousness or uniqueness, hoping to attract the attention of others. For example, in the field of art or fashion culture that pursues the liberation of personality, some people may use self-mutilation to flaunt their unique aesthetics and uninhibited attitude. 4. **Dissociation and escape** - **Psychological escape**: When an individual experiences extremely painful or difficult events, such as witnessing the death of a loved one or suffering from severe violence, self-harm can cause physical pain, temporarily diverting their attention from the inner traumatic experience, as if this method can escape the cruelty of reality. For example, war survivors may engage in self-harm after the war to escape the constant recurrence of war scenes in their minds. - **Dissociative experience**: During the process of self-harm, an individual may enter a state of dissociation, feeling that the body is separated from the self, thereby temporarily getting rid of the emotional constraints and psychological distress in real life. This dissociative experience is attractive to some people who cannot bear the pressure of reality, and becomes a way for them to cope with psychological difficulties.