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Six young adults (aged 19–21 years) with repeat self-harm for over 5 years were interviewed about their self-harm, why they continued and what factors might help them to stop. Interpretative phenomenological analysis identified six themes: keeping self-harm private and hidden; self-harm as self-punishment; self-harm provides relief and comfort; habituation and escalation of self-harm; emotional gains and practical costs of cutting, and not believing they will stop completely. Young adults presented self-harm as an ingrained and purposeful behaviour which they could not stop, despite the costs and risks in early adulthood. Support strategies focused on coping skills, not just eradicating self-harm, are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]