There are, unfortunately, some people who deliberately harm their own bodies. Self injury is not intended to be a suicide attempt but rather a detrimental means to cope with emotional pain, anger, frustration or hopelessness. Self injury brings a transient sense of calm and a release of stress but this is soon followed by guilt, humiliation and going back to the same agonizing emotions. Self injury usually starts as minor injuries but can lead to severe disfigurement.
Self injury is felt to be an impulsive behavior problem but may be associated with depression, an eating disorder (bulimia) and borderline personality. Individuals who self injure may have a variety of symptoms including physical scars, scratches, broken bones, being lonely, having difficulty with interpersonal relationship, wearing long sleeved garments even in hot weather or blaming the injury on others. Self injury is not only cutting oneself but may involve piercing the skin, breaking bones, head banging, biting, pulling out hair and making the wounds worse by probing.
Self injury is rarely a one-time episode and for some people it is a repetitive behavior that is often impulsive. Like most things in psychiatry, the cause of self injury is a mystery. Some people simply are not able to cope with their emotions and find self injury one way to relieve the psychological pain. It is believed that the physical injury distracts the individual from the painful emotions. Some people self injure their bodies to chastise themselves for alleged faults, and in others self injury may be a way of manipulation or getting attention.
Besides the direct physical injury to the body, this behavior also has other complications including accidental suicide, permanent scars, disfigurement or worsening of shame and guilt. The number of people who self injure themselves remains unknown but the disorder appears to be slightly more common in women. The disorder tends to peak in the second or third decade of life.
Self injury is a very difficult disorder to treat. There is no one treatment for everyone.
Loaded Web Australia