Dozens of quantitative studies have examined risk factors for repetition of self-harm, but few studies have examined the lived experience of repeated self-harm among those presenting to emergency departments with self-harm. The current study uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the experiences of young self-harm repeaters who presented to emergency departments in order to inform management and prevention of self-harm. The themes we generated were: " enduring adversity " , " self-harm as contextual " , " agency through self-harm " , " self(harm) as socially aberrant " , and " road to recovery ". The index self-harm episode was often portrayed as a turning point for participants, one which allowed them to begin the process of recovery. We discuss the themes in the context of existing evidence and propose a circular model of the process of repetition of self-harm based on current analysis and extant evidence. Self-harm may represent a turning point to begin collaboration between patients and practitioners towards a shared goal of recovery.