What is self-injury?
Self-injury is the act of causing
deliberate harm to one's body. It can have many other names,
including self-harm, self-mutilation, self-abuse, wrist cutting
and para-suicide. It often affects people with depression
and compulsive disorders.
Typical methods of self-injury include:
- Cutting, usually with razor blades or knives
- Scratching with finger nails or safety pins
- Hair pulling and plucking (trichotillomania)
- Burning with physical heat
- Causing chemical burns with caustic substances
- Hitting with the fists, often to the legs or chest
- Pinching, either repeatedly or until bruising occurs
- Gnawing at flesh
- Biting until blood drawn or bruising occurs
- Head banging
- Poisoning by ingesting toxic substances
- Wound interference, preventing cuts from healing
- Medication abuse, without intending to die
Facts and statistics
Because self-injury tends to be a very private thing, it is
difficult to say exactly how many people are affected. Some
experts claim that as many as 1 in 10 teenagers self-injure.
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the problem
is far more common in females than males, with approximately
seven times more women than men affected. |
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Why do people self-injure?
Self-injury has nothing to do with seeking attention. Indeed,
it is something usually done in private and the sufferer feels
ashamed on their actions. Like starving or purging, self-injury
is a way of regaining some control in the individual's life,
even if only for a brief period of time.
Somebody who self-injures is typically under a lot of stress
and tension. It is not always done out of self-hatred, but is
a way of relieving the stress. Some people, particularly those
with depression, say that self-injuring is the only way they
can feel more alive because they are so numb inside.
When the sufferer self-injures it does not necessarily mean
they are suicidal. Suicide, or contemplating suicide, is a very
different thing from self-injury.
 Suicide
attempts
Eating disorders as a method of self-injuring
Eating disorders themselves can be a method of self-injuring.
This is not usually the case at the onset of the eating disorder
but, as time goes by, the individual becomes caught up in a
cycle of negativity and low self-esteem. Many bulimics deliberately
make time in their day for binging and purging because, like
self-injury, it offers them a release mechanism. Similarly,
anorectics may punish themselves by refusing to eat or drink
for a certain length of time or by over-exercising.
What is the treatment?
Psychological treatment aims to get to the root of the problem
by exploring the possible cause(s) behind the sufferer's feelings.
Self-injury is an expression of inner depression, anxiety and
turmoil. There are reasons for these feelings and, like all
psychological problems, professional treatment can be very effective.
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