Self Harm In Adolescents

Self-Harm in Adolescents

Self-injurious behavior or self- harm is a serious health problem that many people may just take as it being a sign of attempted suicide. Adolescents can truly be a treacherous time with the growth and development of physical, sexual, and emotional aspects. Many adolescents turn to self-harm as a way of coping. Self-harm in adolescents can be anything that is a deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue outside of cultural norms. (Gratz, Dukes, &Roemer, 2002; Yates, 2004) This can include anything from cutting, scratching to burning. Most adolescents use self-harm to help subdue a wide variety of emotional issues. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in Massachusetts found that 18% of Massachusetts

The serotonergic system has been shown to be a factor as a decrease in serotonin has been found in many patients who self-harm. It can also be seen as a drug as it effects the endogenous opiates in the body thus giving a feeling of elation. This contributes to addiction to maintain that feeling. Self-harm can be described as a behavioral addiction. This is due to it involving compulsive acts and it has significant physiological effects. Once the addiction sets in the adolescent will begin to crave it constantly. This addiction can also cause the adolescent to experience withdrawals that can encompass physiological effects. Though it can be more difficult to treat compared to a drug addiction due to the adolescent feeling that it only hurts themselves and they should be able to treat their body as they see fit. According to MacAniff’Zila and Kiselica the absence of appropriate attachment and nurturing during childhood is a major factor to the onset of self-harm. When the adolescent develops in a family where they may have been abused or neglected it makes them find it difficult to receive comfort from other people. This causes the adolescent to rely on their own resources to comfort and relieve pain. Other than parental and familial influence the reason behind the adolescents self-harm could be from their peers. This could come in the forms of rejection, poor interaction, or problems with sexual

Adolescents likely hide the majority of their self-harm and they are able to function in society. The adolescents may hide their injuries in order to keep away attention and embarrassment. When being diagnosed it is important to recognize and find the concurrent issue. This could be anything from anorexia, bulimia, depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. One possibility that could be overlooked is that the adolescent could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This could be stemmed from child abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. It is very important that the counsellor develops a sense of trust with the adolescent. This is because if the reason for self-harm stemmed from abuse it may be difficult for the adolescent to open up at all. The major components to help decrease and end self-harm is to identify and express the adolescent’s emotions and to find a healthy and constructive means to cope. It is important that the adolescent learns the full dynamic on why they self-harm this includes the original source of the problem and why it is a defective coping mechanism. It is imperative that the adolescent find other ways to cope. These methods needs to be free of shame inducing and use cognitive and behavioral ways of dealing with triggering situations. When using behavioral methods the adolescent will discover other means of coping and should be rewarded for the reduction in frequency and severity of self-injury.