Argumentative Essay On Self-Harm

If you ask 100 people why they self harm, you'll get 100 different answers. There are physical reasons, such as pain or the sudden rush of chemicals that make you borderline high. Wanting to get scars and see blood, or trying to escape numbness or dissociation. At a more extreme

In Tony Dokoupil’s article about “the suicide epidemic” He talks about how suicide is the highest rate of “injury death” in the US and how the CDC believes that is surpasses the number of deaths from car crashes. He also goes on to quote Ralph Nader saying, “we have become our own greatest danger” (par 16). Suicidal thoughts and tendencies are also a heightened risk that could lead to serious injury or even death. For some self harm could be severely cutting or scratching their skin as well as burning or puncturing their skin with foreign objects, but others slam themselves into walls, hit things, or bang their head against something. All these things could be potentially dangerous because of the risk of brain damage, broken bones, and severe bleeding. Each of these things could either cause death, or hospitalization. Sometimes people also get addicted to self harm the way others get addicted to nicotine or drugs, if they go for long periods of time without hurting themselves in a way they deem fit they start going into withdrawals. However physical risks aren’t the only types of

People who self harm just want to escape from reality and they do not want to face their depression or anxiety; it is a way for them to cope with stress. Self harm is not considered to be its own mental health condition and doctors believe it is to be caused by depression and/or other mental health illnesses such as obsessive compulsive disorder. Many things can cause someone to self harm such as self-anger, self-hatred, cope with negative feelings, and to even just feel better (Canadian Mental Health Association). Although those who hurt themselves do not want to end their lives, it can be a sign of a suicidal attempt in the future. It is hard to tell if some self harms and family/friends are surprised when they find out that their loved one hurts themselves. Some of the many symptoms of self harm include scars on their body, wearing long sleeved clothing in the summer or hot weather, and spending much of their time alone (Mayo Clinic). There are other symptoms of self harm that do not involve hurting one’s self with a razor or blade (Help Guide). Self harm does not only affect the one who is doing it, but also the family and the ones around the self

I used to be a cutter… but shh, don’t tell. Society didn't allow me to express my pain that way…Today’s society refuses to acknowledge many problems that teens deal with. People would rather believe in ‘happily ever after’ than face the truth, children are suffering. While it may seem to others that the problems are made up, its very real to the one dealing with them everyday. This suffering can leave permanent scars, and damage (if not ruin) their future. By remaining ignorant, self harm becomes more and more common, but at what cost? If educators and medical personnel were to be more educated on self harm and how to deal with it, teens and young adults would be more comfortable asking for help. Getttig rid of the stereotypes that

The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders fifth edition (DSM-5) uses the term non suicidal self-injury. Self-injury is defined as “intentional self inflicted damage to the surface of his or her body of a sort likely to induce bleeding, bruising, or pain, with the expectation that the injury will lead to only minor or moderate physical harm”(American psychiatric Association, 2013,p803). There must be an absence of suicidal intent; this is either stated by the patient, or determined by the fact that the method of harm is not likely to result in death. Although often misunderstood and seen as an attention seeking more

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human services the total number of drug overdose related deaths increased by 18 percent in 2016. Most of the drug overdoses were from opioids ("Michigan overdose deaths grew in 2016," 2017). Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illicit drug heroin, licit prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, norco, and morphine, as well as other synthetic forms such as fentanyl. When taken how they are prescribed and for a short period of time opioid pain relievers are typically safe to use. However because they cause one to feel good on top of relieving pain they are often taken differently than prescribed or in larger quantities than recommended. Misuse can lead to dependence and more seriously an overdose and/or death.

Self mutilation is defined by experts as the act of intentionally harming one's body for emotional relief. There’s different ways people self harm, for example, cutting their skin, biting themselves, head banging, burning of the skin, punching and hitting themselves, scratching or pinching and even hair pulling. Along with the ways, in 1989 there was a survey only involving 240 females self harming in the US.

Self mutilation, banging, self harm, cutting, burning, self injury—these are words used to describe the action of nonsuicidal self injury (NSSI). NSSI is currently in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-The Fifth Edition (DSM-V) under the categories of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and topics for further study. In BPD, NSSI is considered a symptom of the disorder itself. In the category of topics for further study, a set of diagnostic criteria is given, as if was classified as a mental disorder; however, the criteria is not intended for clinical use and may only be used to conduct research on the topic. Topics under this category are usually on their way to becoming a classified mental disorder but do not have quite enough clinical research and information yet to actually become a diagnosis. NSSI should become a complete diagnosis because diagnoses lead to comprehensive treatment and understanding of the illness, better insurance coverage for those with the illness, and social enlightenment about the illness.

“I feel relieved and less anxious after I cut. The emotional pain slowly slips away into the physical pain.” (Brody 2008). Picture yourself cooking in your kitchen, and as you grab the knife it slips and slices your wrist. You immediately feel the sharp pain followed by the tingle burning sensation of pine needles and throbbing. This is the sensation to those who self-harm themselves yearn to feel, they purposely harm themselves to feel a release. By hurting oneself this is not for attention. Self-harm is an addiction and a disease that has multiple causes; self-harm is a developing problem that is needed to be discussed. Self-harm can be stated in various terms such as self-injury, self-mutilation (SM), cutting, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5) there are a number of disorders that are proposed as conditions for further study, including nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). According to the proposed diagnostic criteria, an individual must have engaged in self-injury behavior (e.g., cutting, burning, scraping) on the surface of their body, at least five times over the last year, without suicidal intent. Additionally, the self-injury is done with the intent of gaining relief from negative emotions and the individual experiences excessive thoughts about self-injury in the period of time before the act (APA, 2013). Since the DSM-5 was published, many studies

Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a behavior in which an individual commits an act with the purpose of physically harming themselves with or without real suicidal intent. The reasons for self-harm are complex and not everyone self-harms for the same reason. The cause of self-harm varies with age and can start at any given moment. Self-harm behaviors normally end, but for many it can last well into adulthood. The causes of self-harm are both psychological and environmental in nature, but can overall be seen as a way to cope with stress. As the main reasons for self-injury relate to stress, one of the main environmental components of self-harm is the presence of trauma. This may be a past trauma, such as a high rate of sexual or physical assault

Self-harm is the demonstration of deliberately cutting or ruining ones possess body which regularly causes scarring or changeless tissue harm. There are a few unique terms which are likewise used to portray self-injury which incorporate self-hurt, self-harmful conduct, self mutilation, and self-caused viciousness.

A useful definition of self-harm is from Professor Keith Hawton (Hawton et al., 2006. p29). An act with a non-fatal outcome in which an individual deliberately did one or more of the following;

If you bring up the subject of suicide in a room of people, it is likely that the individuals will become quite, begin to become uncomfortable. Why is this? Is it because of the aspect of death? Is it the ways it is done? Society may say it is a wrong and selfish act, or that a person is not considering others and therefore it is erroneous. We live in a society where mental health problems are rampant, societal issues take over our daily lives and out everyday stresses impact our health, yet our understanding of the subject that is to be avoided and carries a stigma with it that affects the way people see those who have attempted or completed suicide. When deciding if suicide is an ethical or morally accepted action, we must take many factors into consideration. Some of these factors may include the culture and society in which we live and our knowledge of psychological and biological causes. With these factors in mind, we can then adopt our own personal philosophies on whether suicide is an ethical or moral act. While not all individuals are going to agree on a consensus, it is important to consider others opinions and be aware of them while discussing the subject, even if it is uncomfortable.

One out of 20 cyberbullies in the US is the aggressor and the target, a new study – published in the Journal of Adolescent Health -- discovered. The issue surfaced after the death of 14-year-old Hannah Smith of Leicestershire, England, who hanged herself.