Self-mutilation is becoming more and more prevalent in society today, specifically in Western culture. In fact, reports say that it is “estimated that 3 million people in the USA choose to cut, burn or cause other types of tissue destruction to themselves” (Hicks & Hinck, p. 408, 2008). As psychologists begin to take a more in-depth look into the complexity of this behavior, discussion and analytical thought are starting to emerge. With that comes discussion and debate on functions, attributes, antecedents, and even how self-mutilation should be defined.
With the various definitions for self-mutilation comes a few general ideas that are common across all literature. The most basic of them would be defining self-mutilation as “a deliberate act to
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One definition in particular said that self-mutilation is “the intentional act of tissue destruction with the purpose of shifting overwhelming emotional pain to a more acceptable physical pain” (Rissanen, Kylma, & Laukkanen, p. 576, 2011). This definition, at least for a psychological analysis, best describes what exactly self-mutilation is.
The literature also gives a detailed description on self-mutilation. Within the description are the attributes, functions or purposes, antecedents, and consequences of self-harm. Some theories state that the functions for self-harm can either be intrapersonal or interpersonal. “The term intrapersonal refers to functions aimed at altering an individual’s internal state (emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations), whereas the term interpersonal or social refers to functions that aim to change the external environment” (Dahlström, Zetterqvist, Lundh, & Svedin, p. 303, 2015). So, an example of intrapersonal function might be using self-mutilation as a way to relieve feelings like anxiety or sadness, or to punish themselves for doing something they perceived as wrong. An example of interpersonal function could be doing it
Self-harm, or self-mutilation, is the intentional action of harming oneself, generally without the intent to kill. It is estimated that over two million people self-harm in the United States alone (Pomere). When involved with depression, self-harm is generally used as a method of coping with stress and various feelings that they may be having. If depression manifests with feelings of inadequacies, one could feel like they deserve to be injured (Bartha). Over time, the act of self-injury could become an addiction. It could become an obsession (Pomere).
Self-harm, or also known as attempted suicide, or parasuicide, is a way to physically express emotional distress. For people who do self-harm, it is a way to cope with their problem, to distract them from the emotional pain. In simple words, it is a quick temporary band-aid for their inner wounds. After hurting themselves, people wou...
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
Most often, the cause of people self harming is depression, PTSD, or others serious medical conditions. These people feel like they are going nowhere in life and that they cannot find any relief, so they cut them self. Cutting may seem pointless to some, but to these people who self harm, its not, its what keeps them alive. They are add...
Self-injury is a term which describes a variety of behaviours in which there are two critical elements: the damage is acute and the damage is intentional. Self injury is generally an unhealthy effort to cope with overwhelming emotions, such as intense anger, rage, terror or shame. There is often a distinction made by psychiatrists between attempted suicide and self-injury as these acts are most often done without suicidal intent. The damage caused is generally severe enough to leave a bruise, scar or other mark, or cause health issues.
Self-mutilation is the deliberate, direct destruction or alteration of one’s body without suicidal intent. It is meant to be a way of coping with one’s emotions and to calm the hatred and rage within oneself. Before recent studies, it was thought to be a crazy, masochist act and although self-mutilators tend to have some psychological disorders they are no longer considered crazy. Due to these recent studies, there are also many ways to help stop and overcome self-mutilation.
Suicide has been defined as "the act of self-destruction by a person sound in mind and
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. .
Do you know anyone who cuts themselves or harms themselves? Chances are you do and you don’t even know it. Self Harm is something that a lot of people go through. Some self harmers don’t even realize they are harming themselves because they are too occupied with getting their other pain to go away. Self harm is very dangerous and when people do it they typically do it to make themselves feel better or it “lets all the pain out through the cuts”. Self harm also creates the chance that the person harming themselves will die even if they aren’t intending to commit suicide.
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).
Non-suicidal self-injury, or self-mutilation is often referred to as an act of deliberately damaging oneself physically without any intention to commit suicide (Weierich, 2008). A history of childhood trauma may result in posttraumatic stress disorder among the adult victims and may eventually lead to non-suicidal self-harm (Sansone et al., 2009). In the present review, the relevant factors for non-suicidal self-harm such as childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse are investigated and it is hypothesized that by confronting with suicide attempts, self-injurious behavior among adults develop a relatively strong relationship with childhood victimization.
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.
...such as firearms could be utilized in conjunction with knives because some participants did not correlate the word cutting, for example, with suicidal ideation.
People that self-harm normally feel empty inside, unable to express themselves, not understood by others, or lonely. They use self-harming to relieve painful hard to explain feelings. The relief does not stay it's only temporary, then it can develop into a more serious situation. Self-harming makes you feel like you have control but in reality you don't.
Have you or do you know anyone who self harms? Or perhaps you knew somebody who committed suicide. Although it is a terrible thing to talk about, put yourself in that persons position. What drove that person to harm them self, or end their life? Suicide and self harm is more serious than any other addiction.