This month our focus is on erasing stigma, providing education, and giving support and hope to those who struggle with self-harm/self-injury.
MYTHS about people who self harm include:
- Only adolescents self-injure
- Self injury is just a cry for attention
- People who self-injure have a severe mental illness
- Males do not self injure
- Self injury is a failed suicide attempt
FACTS: Each year 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self injury. 90% of adults who self injure began during their teen or preteen years. Many of those who self injure report learning how to do so from friends, websites, and social media pages which are pro self injury.
WHAT IS IT? Self-injury can include cutting or burning the skin; scratching to the point of bleeding; picking at sores; pulling one’s hair; hitting or punching oneself; and even embedding small objects into flesh.
WHY DO PEOPLE DO IT? People self injure for various reasons. Some do it to cope with overwhelming emotions, release the pressure of anxiety or tension, and stop bad feelings. Some start to fit in with peers who are self injuring. Overall, it is a way to deal with stress. It is rarely a suicidal gesture. There is often a history of trauma connected with the urge to self injure. In particular, there is a high correlation between sexual abuse survivors and self injury. Most often, it sought out as a way to distract oneself from emotional pain by creating physical pain. The adrenaline rush which is the body’s automatic reaction to injury masks the pain and helps the person to numb out. Conversely, some people have reported that they engaged in self injurious behaviors in order to “feel something” besides numbness or emptiness. In these cases, the act of cutting (or other forms of injury) causes a pain sensation which is meeting the need of feeling something.
Dr. Eddie Selby calls self injury a “false friend.” His research on self injury shows that, although it is often seen as a coping tool for dealing with problems, it ultimately causes more problems than it solves. He encourages anyone who is self injuring to seek professional help and find more healthy tools for coping.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Accept the person even if you disagree with the behavior. Remain calm and caring. Listen with compassion. Avoid panic or overreaction. Know that this represents a way of dealing with emotional pain. Do not show shock or revulsion at what they have done. Do not use threats in an attempt to stop the behavior. Do not ask the person to recount the self injury experience in detail, as this may trigger another session.
DO get appropriate help for the person from a qualified mental health professional.
Resources:
www.healthyplace.com/abuse/self-injury
www.psychologytoday.com/basics/self-harm
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/overcoming-self-sabotage/201001/cutting-escape-emotional-pain