What is Self-Injury?
by: Amy Otis, RN
What is Self-Injury or Self-Mutilation?
Self-injury
is not something people talk about very often, but for an estimated
2 to 3 million Americans it is a serious problem. The majority of people
who self-injure are women between the ages of 13 and 30, but there are "cutters" of every age, gender, and economic group.
People who
"self-injure" are not usually suicidal. They do however, intentionally
inflict injuries upon themselves, usually in response to stress or trauma.
Their injuries may vary from minor cuts that heal quickly to very serious
wounds that leave permanent scars. This is also known as "Deliberate
Self-Harm Syndrome".
If you or
someone you know self-injures, please get professional help right away.
This is just an overview of a very complex myriad of syndromes.
Self-injury usually
indicates that somewhere during development that person didn't learn
good ways of coping with overwhelming feelings or stress. They’re
not sick or insane; they just never learned positive ways to deal with
feelings and emotions for various reasons. Positive coping skills can
be learned at any point in life. People who self-injure can learn to
use new and healthier coping mechanisms. This process may take years
to develop with the help of a skilled therapist familiar with this condition.
The late Princess Diana's word's shocked the world when she admitted
in a television interview that she intentionally cut her arms and legs
and had thrown herself down a flight of stairs on more than one occasion.
Finally, self-injury -- the practice of deliberately cutting, scratching,
burning, or otherwise injuring one's own body -- was about to come out
of the closet. After that interview thousands of self-injury survivors
called or wrote the media in response to that interview in just the
United States alone.
Cutting
seems to be the most common type of self-injury. "Cutters" often use
razors, utility knives, scissors, needles, broken glass, or whatever
they find to make repetitive slices on their arms, legs or other body
parts. Some people burn themselves with cigarettes or lighters, others
pull out their own hair.
Many people who self-injure say they do it
because they normally feel "numb" and cutting helps them to "feel alive."
Others talk about the "sense of control" they may get from self-injury.
This may be the first time or thing that they have felt a sense of control
in their lives. Most agree that incidents of self-injury are triggered
by stress and anxiety.
Self-injury is usually kept secret, and the "cutter" often feels deep
shame and guilt from this ritual. People who self-injure are at risk
for infections if their wounds are not treated properly. Permanent scarring
can also result from self-injury and often does. Many people who self-injure
wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and turtlenecks even in warm weather
to conceal the marks they've left on their own bodies.
Why
Do People Self-Injure?
This
problem is not completely understood by health care professionals or
psychologists. It seems to be most common among people who have been
sexually abused as children, molested as children, or by survivors of
incest.
Whatever the context
or reason, self-injury seems to function as a coping mechanism. "Cutters"
use self-harm to feel calm, "in control," or just to "feel something."
However, self-injury is not a healthy coping mechanism - it is a self-destructive
behavior that probably reflects deeper, more complicated mental health
or personal problems. (See the end of this article for some quotes and
"stories" of people who self-injure).
Some
Common Factors of Self-Injury
* Age of onset between 10 - 16 years old
* There was
a major change in the teen's life -- parents divorce or death
* There is
a history of family violence, abuse or sexual abuse
* Intense
feelings of fear, hurt, anger, rejection or abandonment
* Feelings
of loss and or need for control
Some Common Reasons Why People Cut Themselves
These are
some of the reasons our readers who "cut" shared with us.
They find it soothing:
* To feel
pain on the outside instead of the inside
* To cope
with feelings
* To express
anger towards themselves
* To feel
alive, instead of "numb"
A way of communicating what they can't say with words:
* To tell
people they need help
* To get
people's attention
* To tell
someon they should be in hospital
An attempt to get people to react to their actions:
* To get
people to care for them
* To make
other people feel guilty
* To drive
people away
* To get
away from stress and responsibility
* To manipulate
people or situations
Triggering
Events Reported by Young Adults Who Self-Injure:
* Being rejected by someone who is important to them
* Being blamed
for something over which they had no control
* Feeling
inadequate
* Being "wrong"
in some way
RECOVERY
People who self-injure
can learn to use new and healthier coping mechanisms. This process
may take years to develop.
It also is important to get help from a
therapist who specializes in self-injury. He or she can help the person
figure out what lies behind the urge to cut or injure. New coping
mechanisms may include exercising, painting, writing, yoga or dancing
instead of hurting oneself. A process that involves self-expression
is often helpful. Whatever works as an alternative method of coping
with the feelings of anxiety or stress or "numbness" is often a good
start toward recovery.
If
you hurt yourself intentionally, remember you are not alone. You might
think that this behavior makes you a "weird," but you can see from
the statistics that it is more common than you thought. Talk to a
counselor, therapist or your health care provider, chances are they've
helped others with this same problem. Whatever pain or bad experiences
underlie your urge to self-injure, a professional can help you to
heal, both inside and out.
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