8 Common Myths about Self-Harm

[David Baxter PhD]

8 Common Myths about Self-Harm
Florida Borderline Personality Disorder Association
May 8, 2009

We recently received a copy of Freedom from Self Harm: Overcoming Self-Injury with Skills from DBT and Other Treatments by Kim Gratz and Alexander Chapman and can highly recommend this book.

One of my favorite parts of the book is titled 8 Common Myths about Self-Harm. Here’s what the authors came up with:

1. Self-harm is the same as a suicide attempt.
2. Self-harm is superficial and not dangerous.
3. Self-harm is manipulative.
4. If you self-harm, you have borderline personality disorder.
5. Self-harm is a female problem.
6. Self-harm is crazy, sick, and irrational.
7. You must resolve your underlying issues before you can stop self-harm.
8. If you resolve all your underlying issues, your self-harm will go away.

Although this book is specifically intended for those who engage in self-harm, it should be a helpful resource for families and mental health professionals as well.

 

[Halo]

1. Self-harm is the same as a suicide attempt.
2. Self-harm is superficial and not dangerous.
3. Self-harm is manipulative.
4. If you self-harm, you have borderline personality disorder.
5. Self-harm is a female problem.
6. Self-harm is crazy, sick, and irrational.
7. You must resolve your underlying issues before you can stop self-harm.
8. If you resolve all your underlying issues, your self-harm will go away.

I found the list quite interesting and accurate all with the exception of the last two (# 7 and 8) which I just can't seem to grasp. I would think or it has been my understanding, that the underlying issues, thought and feelings are what is prompting the self-harm so therefore in order to stop self harming then the underlying issues need to be resolved first.

Also, if the the underlying issues are resolved and the overwhelming feelings and thoughts are no longer present, wouldn't the need to self-harm go away as well?

Maybe I am not reading it right but it doesn't sound like it should be on a "myth" list.

 

[Jazzey]

I've done a bit of research on self-harm for the past few days. I think the dichotomy lies in the fact that there is a certain addictive quality to self-harm. The release of endorphins in the process is quite addictive. So the self-injurer uses them to self-medicate in a way. So even if the underlying issues are treated (such as self-hatred or admonition) you still have to treat that high that comes from S.I....I think...That's what I took from this post Halo in terms of being a myth. Self-injury, in and of itself has to be treated as a coping mechanism.

The articles I've read suggest that, as with any other self-medication, you become tolerant to the endorphins..so you tend to escalate the S.I. to meet your needs at that time.

 

[Halo]

That's an interesting way to look at it. I guess I just don't see it as a high but always as a coping mechanism and my thinking was that if the underlying issues gets resolved there is no need for the use of a coping mechanism hence no need for the self-harming.

But maybe they mean that because it has become a coping mechanism for the person and almost a habit or instinct to turn towards, that the person needs to address that as an issue as well and find other healthy coping mechanisms for the future.

Hmmm...thought provoking!

 

[David Baxter PhD]

There's more information here: Freedom from Self-Harm: Overcoming ... - Google Book Search

 

[Halo]

Thanks David, I understand it much better

 

[NicNak]

After reading the link Dr Baxter posted for the book, I understood now.
I was confused over the last two myths as well, although maybe it was my prior state of mind.

Myself I use to self harm too almost daily for close to a year. Not so much now and not to the severity as before.

The self harm has subsided I would say by 98% as well as the urges. I don't know exactly what made it subside, but happy it did.

The self harming has subsided without any real resolve, as I still have my same diagnosis.

I appologize for not posting sooner, I just clued into it now.

 

[Halo]

Yes the link that David posted really helped to clarify why the last two myths are on the list but it definitely makes sense now

 

[Atlantean]

Its unfortunate that there are so many misconceptions about SI. As I mentioned in some other thread quite a while back I used to be a really bad cutter, and I was never able to get treatment for it because everywhere I turned everyone thought that it was due to or related to things that couldnt have been further from the truth.

Its been my experience (Ive since worked with a lot of cutters and am also factoring in my personal experience) that people who practice SI do so for the following three reasons:

1)They feel too much
2)They cant feel anything
3)To Escape from pain, either by using the pain of the injury to get them out of the mindset they were in, or in the case of some cutting, to "bleed" the pain out of them.

 

[Jazzey]

I'm not a cutter, but I do another form of S.I. - and I do it to stop thinking.

 

[Atlantean]

that would fall under my "They feel too much" category.

 

[Jazzey]

Thanks A. I never thought about it that way.

 

[Halo]

To say that one engages in SI it doesn't necessarily mean they are a cutter or at least that is my impression.

From what I understand SI can mean so many more things that just cutting including:

A common form of self-injury involves making cuts in the skin of the arms, legs, abdomen, inner thighs, etc. However, the number of self-injury methods are only limited by an individual's inventiveness and their determination to harm themselves; this includes, but is not limited to compulsive skin picking (dermatillomania), hair pulling (trichotillomania), burning, stabbing, poisoning, alcohol abuse and forms of self harm related to anorexia and bulimia Wikipedia.

It's a coping mechanism, just not one that's as understandable to most people or as accepted by society as alcoholism, drug abuse, overeating, anorexia and bulimia, workaholism, smoking cigarettes, and other forms of problem avoidance. Focusas.com

 

[Atlantean]

Its absolutely true that SI isnt limited to cutting. There are many ways one can harm themselves, and I agree that hair-pulling is to an extent self harm, but I think thats more a compulsion and rarely a form of SI.

 

[NicNak]

When I was cutting, I was almost in a trance type state. Kind of in a panic, but once this weird trance type state set in, cutting was the urge. The only urge that was there.

My Psychiatrist just called them "episodes" when he inquired if it happened again and how frequent.

I wouldn't be surpised if it was actually a psychosis episode that was happening. It was almost like I was outside myself...

Luckily that happens not too frequently anymore and my tool of choice is no long readily available to me.

 

[Atlantean]

you know, I can relate to what you are saying, the state of mind I was in was so singular and the intensity of what I felt was so great, it really was sort of like a trance. Im just glad those days are gone. Ive had a couple minor relapses, but fortunately the last couple times I just burned myself instead of creating such extreme lacerations or even minor ones. The scars from the burns have almost gone away, already. I remember having this breaking point the next to last time I did it, and I told my husband (LOL, tells you how long ago this was, considering hes been gone since the beginning of February) "I dont want to burn myself anymore" and he just said "Then Dont", and I remember thinking that I had stopped once, and I could do it again, and it really was that easy. I mean, you have to be ready to stop, but its almost just like a switch goes off when you are ready to stop. and it doesnt help anymore, so my relapses have been minimal. Thats actually when I knew I was over my self Injury... When it didnt help anymore, and it hurt to do. (Previously due to my dissociativeness, the cuts didnt hurt at all to inflict, and the pain only set in hours later, after the episode was over).

 

[NicNak]

I never felt any pain either. I joked with my GP when I went for the Tetnus shot and said "Is this going to hurt?" and she said "Not anymore than what you did" I told her, "I didn't feel it" My GP was a bit shocked with that, but I know she believes what I say. My psychiatrist wasn't shocked. He never is it seems, which I guess is good.

 

[Atlantean]

LOL, yeah, no one ever Believed I couldnt feel it, either. I guess it just takes one who knows to understand and grasp the concept.