Facts

• Self-injury is a very private act. Most people keep their scars and behaviours secret. This makes it extremely hard to find data on the subject. The behaviour can begin at any time and can last until the person addresses the root causes of the behaviour. (Canadian Mental Health Association).

• Self-injury should not be confused with suicide. The reasons for committing the acts are completely opposite. Suicide is an act to end one’s life whereas self-injury is used to help a person deal with their life (Canadian Mental Health Association).

• Eating disorders, such as anorexia, overeating, emotional eating and bulimia, are all forms of self-injury. Smoking and alcohol/drug addiction can also be considered self-injury (Canadian Mental Health Association).

• In 2006, about 46% of students (youth) reported some form of self-injury (Medicine Net).

• The teens’ most common reasons for self-injury were “to try to get a reaction from someone,” “to get control of a situation,” and “to stop bad feelings.” (Medicine Net).

Causes

Self-injury is a way of coping. Extreme feelings of fear, anger, guilt, shame, helplessness, self-hatred, unhappiness, depression and/or despair can build up over time. These feelings can result from things such as difficulty in school, bullying, abuse, low self-esteem, pressures from daily life or unhealthy relationships. When these feelings become unbearable, self-injury can be a way of dealing with them.

Reasons young people have given for their self-injury include:

• When the level of emotional pressure becomes too high, it acts as a safety valve – a way of relieving the tension.
• Cutting makes the blood take away the bad feelings.
• Pain can make someone feel more alive when feeling numb or dead inside.
• Punishing oneself relieves feelings of shame or guilt.
• When it’s too difficult to talk to anyone, self-injury is a form of communication about unhappiness – a way of acknowledging the need for help.
• Self-injury gives a sense of control when other parts of one’s life may not.

Adapted and reproduced with permission from the National Children’s Bureau.

The pain from harming oneself is a tangible feeling that can provide comfort. However, the original cause of the pain is not dealt with and usually remains, which is why most people self-injure again and again.

Types

Below are some common types of self-injury:

Cutting is a common form of self-injury where people using sharp objects like razor blades, scissors, glass or knives to cut their skin. More often than not they will cut themselves somewhere where it cannot be seen or where it can be hidden by clothes.

Burning and Branding are another type where people use hot objects to burn and brand their skin and body.

Picking at skin (scratching) is when individuals re-open wounds or pick at certain areas of skin on their body. This controlling way of relieving stress often damages the skin, causing scars on a person’s body.

A common group of methods of self injury are bone breaking, hitting, bruising, punching and/or head-banging. This is often seen in individuals with psychological problems or mental retardation; however, mentally sound people also partake in this for of self-injury. This involves causing minimal to severe physical harm and pain to one’s body. The severity of the injury deetermines how well it will heal. Continuous and severe head-banging can cause permanent damage to the brain.

Piercing and Tattoos, although common and accepted as normal in most societies, can also be an outlet for someone dealing with personal issues. The pain of getting a tattoo or piercing can be relieving for some people and will make them feel better; therefore they continuously partake in this activity.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating and binge eating are sometimes seen as a form of self-mutilation because it is changing the normal and necessary function of your digestive system and diet. Sometimes if the eating disorder is severe it may cause death. This form of self-injury is often common in those who have body image issues.

Ingesting poisons and drinking harmful chemicals can severely damage a person’s body, temporarily or permanently. Depending on the chemical ingested, it may cause severe illness or death. This is not a common type of self-injury compared to the previous methods, but it does help some people deal with personal issues and serves as an outlet to detach themselves from reality by tampering with their brain functions.

Hair-pulling, can also be seen as a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is when a person pulls out hair from different parts of their body to cope, such as the head, legs, chest, arms or anywhere that hair is present.

Signs

• Unexplained injuries such as scratching, burning, bruising, pulling hair, etc.
• Covering up one’s body in long pants and sleeves even when it’s hot
• Low self esteem and problems handling emotions
• Fluctuating reactions towards conflicts and high stress situations
• Problems with maintaining relationships with family members, peers, etc.

Outlook

Self injury can become addictive and constant, often appearing in those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It is very important to seek help and treatment in addressing the issues that are leading to self-injury. Help can come from anyone you trust (parents, friends, siblings, teachers, counselors, etc.). Treatment should come from trained professionals, such as social workers, doctors, counselors and youth workers.

Part of treatment is examining when and why you self-injure. Think about when you began self-injury, how you feel just before or just after, and the events in your life with which you have the most difficultly dealing. Write down these thoughts so that you can further reflect on them. Once a trained professional has determined the root cause of your self injury, with your help, appropriate treatment best suitable for your situation will then be assigned to you. Some forms of treatment include: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, hypnosis or self-relaxation, group therapy, family therapy, medication and/or in-patient hospitalization. The treatment program that will work best for you depends on your needs and history. Treatment for depression is sometimes part of the help for self-injury. For more information on treatments for self injury please visit the Help Guide website.

Links

Youth and Self Injury
Young People and Self-harm
Self-harm: pain from the inside out
Centre for Young Women’s Health
Help Guide
Kids Help Phone