There are many different definitions for self-mutilations, also known as self-injury, self-harm, or self-inflicted violence. One definition of self-mutilation is that is any self-directed, repetitive behavior that causes physical injury. Another definition is that self-mutilation is self-inflicted physical harm severe enough to cause tissue damage done without suicidal intent. This is just one example of the blurriness of the boundaries of self-mutilation.
It is very hard to pin point exactly who or why people self-mutilate, however there are known risk factors. The known risk factors are: the female gender, of adolescence and college age, involved in substance abuse, having a personality disorder, and having a history of self-mutilation. This does not limit the occurrence of self-mutilation within other genders or other ages. For example it is not very common that elderly people will self-injure, but there are clinical reports of it occurring in this age group before. The occurrence of self-injury can not be defined to one particular group of people. People who self-mutilate can be survivors of abuse, people who have eating disorders, or people who suffer from substance abuse. It can also occur in homes where there is violence with an inhibition of verbally expressing their emotions, or in a home that loses a parent do to death or divorce. However you can not limit this illness to people who are more susceptible, it also occurs in teachers, medical professionals, lawyers, engineers, and high-achieving high-school students.
People most commonly use self-injury as a coping mechanism; to relieve the tension or distress. People say that self-mutilating lets them “forget” about any feelings that they want to free themselves from. If the person uses the cutting self-mutilation they may feel that seeing the blood gives them a sense of well-being and strength. This would give them a feeling of empowerment, and they feel in control by enduring the pain that they inflict on themselves. Along with the feeling of releasing their tension and frustration there are other factors that can lead to self-injury. One of these factors is the lack or a role model, or the feeling of invalidation. Most people who self injure were chronically invalidated as a child, which led them to having a feeling of worthlessness. I...
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...in other impulse control disorders and help to control the impulse of people who self-mutilate. There are also psychotherapeutic approaches, such as psychodynamic psychotherapy. This is the most common form of individual therapy. This therapy teaches self-mutilators more healthy ways to deal with negative things. Another psychotherapeutic approach would be dialectical behavior therapy; this therapy combines cognitive, behavioral, and supportive interventions.
Self-mutilation is an unfortunate issue that people have to deal with, but with support from their families and friends, it can be resolved. One important thing to remember is that self-mutilation is not a failed suicide attempt. Also, people who self-injure are not bad people; they are just people that have to deal with some overwhelming issues that they don’t know how to deal with otherwise.
Sources:
Fong, Timothy. “Self-mutilation: Impulsive traits suggest new drug therapies.” Self-mutilation. Feb. 2003. Dec. 15, 2004 .
Martisnson, Deb. “Self Injury Fact Sheet.” Self Injury Fact Sheet. 1999. Dec. 15, 2004 .
“Self-mutilation: the truth behind the shame.” Over view of self-injury, self-mutilation. 2000. Dec. 15, 2004 .
First, some people harm themselves simply because they can. A friend of Callie’s, Amanda, cuts herself and said to Callie, “Listen, I don’t see how what I do is so different from people who get their tongues pierced. Or their lips. Or their ears, for Chrissakes. It’s my body” (McCormick 37). She doesn’t see the harm in hurting herself which is why teaching this book could tell teenagers that this isn’t the path to go down and that there are other alternatives. She thinks that this is normal and a way to cope with her problems on a day-to-day basis. Amanda is one of the 1,400 out of 100,000, and growing, people who admitted to self-injury (Kennedy). Secondly, some people self-injure to cope with their feelings and tensions. Callie explains to her therapist about her father’s job situation and said, “’Now he just sells to companies nearby.’ I don’t tell you [her therapist] about how it seems like all the companies nearby already have computers, that for a while he took people out hoping they’d become customers and that now he mostly just goes out. ‘He has to work a lot’” (McCormick 111). Callie explained how her fathers situation seemed to cause her a lot of stress and how she seemed worried for him. To add, “some reasons why teens self-injure include: release of tension and feeling overwhelmed” (Styer). This is a lesson that could be taught in
Murphy, E., Kapur, N., Webb, R., & Cooper, J. (2011). Risk assessment following self-harm: comparison of mental health nurses and psychiatrists. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 67(1), 127-139. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05484.x
middle of paper ... ... Retrieved June 16, 2002, from http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm. National Mental Health Association. 2000 May 15.
Why do people hurt themselves? In a journal article from the American Journal of Psychotherapy, Louise Ruberman notes that about 2.1 million teens suffer from nonsuicidal self-injury, or NSSI. Young women between the ages of 14 and 18 years old take part in NSSI due to poor development of the relationship with their mothers, childhood abuse, and psychiatric disorders. Although there are multiple ways of causing injury to oneself, cutting of the skin as a means of self-mutilation is said to be the most common (Ruberman 119). We will start out by examining the problems that occur during the relationship development between a mother and a daughter at a young age.
There are many cases where girls and boys hurt themselves because they are insecure about themselves. They feel too ugly or too fat. These kinds of people live in depression. They do not feel good about themselves. People like this tend to harm their bodies. The fact that they become depressed makes it even worse. One good example is Bulimia nervosa. It is an eating disorder where the person eats and tries to take it back as soon as they can. This is mainly caused by lack of confidence. The person probably feels like they are fat. Many other kids cut themselves due to lack of self-love. Another good example is if you are being bullied. Being bullied really hurts feelings it makes you feel like you are not good enough. There are tons of kids who are depressed due to the fact that they are being bullied constantly. Many times kids stay like this and do not speak up because they are afraid. However they are only making it worse. They live by depression every day. Anyone can stand up and put a stop to bulling. I’m very confident that if you put an end to being bullied you’ll also put an end to the depression you suffer. Depression can influence our actions. We must love our selves. God mad us all different but we are all beautiful in our own ways. We must love our bodies and treat them as
...re have been many studies that have been conducted in the past before the 2000’s, however for this paper those studies were not useful due to the fact that the use of current evidence was the upmost importance. Another limitation to the topic of this paper is that, the studies only include males usually. There has been little information published related to juveniles and women who face administrative segregation or solitary confinement. The hopes of these changes will help reduce the amount of self-harm that is experienced in prisons and jails.
Henry, Andrew F. and James F. Short Jr. (1954). Suicide and Homicide: Some Economic, Sociological, and Psychological Aspects of Aggression. New York: The Free Press.
It can often be used as a distraction from emotional distress and a way to release feelings the person has help in for so long. They often feel relief and a sense of calmness after performing the act. This is known as cutting or self-mutilation. Some forms of self-mutilation are cutting, burning, hair-pulling, pinching, scratching, picking at scars, and head-banging. People who self-mutilate often have a history of abuse, whether it be sexual, emotional, or physical. Self-mutilation often piggy backs onto other mental health problems such as eating disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and many other mental illnesses. Most people who self-harm often have low self-esteem and are perfectionists. They are often very impulsive and have poor problem-solving
Michaelson, Peter. “A Hidden Reason for Suicidal Thoughts”(2013). Why We Suffer. n.pag. Web. 2 Apr. 2014
Sharma, L., Kohl, K., Morgan, T. A., & Clark, L. A. (2013). “Impulsivity”: Relations between self-report
Currently, there are two major types of treatments for personality disorders: psychotherapy and pharmacological therapy. Depending on whether the patient is suicidal or violent, determines how the psychiatrist, or therapist, will decide to treat the individual. One type of practice that is used in psychotherapy is called avoidance reduction. It is similar to the other techniques that are found in other psychotherapies. There are three approaches that are used in avoidance reduction: supportive therapy, positive feedback, and reassurance.
Styer, Denise M. "An Understanding of Self-Injury and Suicide." Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., Vol. 13, Supplement. Dec. 2006: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Rubinstein, Meses & Lidz, On Attempted Suicide, 79 A.M.A. ARCHIVES NEUROLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY 103, 111 (1958).
Let us look into basic and generalized knowledge of self injury. Self injury (self harm or S.I.) is the act of harming yourself as a way of coping with emotional pain, frustration, and anger. Some view it as a suicide attempt or a precursor to a suicide attempt, but it is not a suicide attempt at all. Rather, it is a serious cry for help. When an individual turns to self injury, they look for an emotional release which gives them momentary calmness. “While self-injury may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions” (Self Injury 1). Self injury can also result in serious or even fatal injuries (1).
Some students admitted to hurting themselves on purpose because of being stressed or upset by banging their head or body on an object, cutting themselves, stabbing themselves, as well as hitting, biting, or burning themselves (Blazer, 2010). When the effects of the pressure and stress on students is this drastic, it is extremely important that something is done about it. Its time that students were encouraged to become well-rounded individuals instead of focusing on having a perfect GPA. Its time to make school something that the students can look back on and think that it was a meaningful time where they learned a lot about life instead of a time where they thought they would have a break down because they got a low score on a test. School should be a time to make mistakes in a safe environment that they can learn from, not a place where they are petrified to make a mistake for fear of retribution on their grade cards.