More threads by David Baxter PhD

David Baxter PhD

Late Founder
What Is Self-Injury?
Desirea Black, 2001

Self-injury
Everyone develops ways to deal with the pain they experience, whether it is physical or emotional. Self-injury is one method that some people use. It is a practice that is largely misunderstood by doctors, the public, and family members of those who engage in self-injury. People may react to the self-injurer with disgust, anger, or fear. This may cause the self-injurer to become ashamed and to hide his or her practices rather than seeking help.

What is self-injury?
Self-injury is the act of hurting oneself on purpose. Most self-injurers engage in the behaviour as a method of coping with feelings, such as depression or hopelessness. It is not an attempt to kill oneself. Self-injury takes many different forms, including cutting, burning, scratching, hair pulling, breaking bones, hitting, head banging, and interfering with wound healing. Depending on the person, self-injurers may or may not actually feel the pain they are inflicting on themselves. For this reason, some people may injure themselves more severely than they intend.

Who self-injures?
Many different types of people use self-injury as a way to cope with emotions. Often the practice begins in the teen years. Some people believe that the practice is becoming more widespread. Self-injury is seen in patients with different psychiatric disorders, such as depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders. Many self-injurers are diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder. This diagnosis may or may not be relevant to the self-injurer and should only be made if the person exhibits additional symptoms of this disorder. However, many people are diagnosed with this disorder based on the presence of self-injury alone.

Why do people self-injure?
Many self-injurers use self-injury as a coping mechanism, a way to deal with stressful emotions or events. Often the emotions they feel are extreme and cannot be expressed verbally by the self-injurer. Some people self-injure to punish themselves, to show people how much they are hurting, or to calm themselves. Some people use it as a method of stopping disassociation, while others may use it to induce this state.

Self-injury is not a suicidal act, though many people around the self-injurer may think so. It is also not a cry for attention or an attempt at manipulation. It is believed that the act of self-injury may cause the release of certain chemicals in the brain that help to calm people.

...more of this article
 

Attachments

  • createlink.png
    createlink.png
    1 KB · Views: 2,634
  • switchmode.png
    switchmode.png
    435 bytes · Views: 31
  • insertimage.png
    insertimage.png
    872 bytes · Views: 29
  • video.png
    video.png
    656 bytes · Views: 27

Cybil2U

Member
Self Injury?

What of someone who plucks their hair out to the point of total baldness or various huge areas of baldness ? .......I've seen articles on one pulling or twisting their own hair out ........

Hope all have a happy holiday !
 

hkfiesta

Member
It is also not a cry for attention or an attempt at manipulation. It is believed that the act of self-injury may cause the release of certain chemicals in the brain that help to calm people.

thanks for this posting dr baxter.
i have a friend who, whenever in stressful occasions would do things such as cutting or poking herself with a sharp comb end etc..
me and other friends aren't sure whether she wants attention or not, as she kinda gloats at what she does, sharing and openly telling everyone..
It is true that most people would think that those who self-injure is looking for attention. but should we give them attention? or let them be?
 

David Baxter PhD

Late Founder
Hmmm... I'm having a tough time deciding how to answer this one. If by giving attention, you mean paying attention to her as a friend, without making a special fuss over the self-injurious behavior either way, then I'd say yes. Especially if you see the alternative as ignoring or shunning her because of the SI behavior.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't go out of your way to give her special attention BECAUSE of the SI but don't go out of your way to ignore or punish her for it either.
 
Replying is not possible. This forum is only available as an archive.
Top