Deliberate Self-Harm Paper

As someone who has dealt with the loneliness and pain of self harm I would like to share with you the affects and health risks of self harm. Contrary to popular belief self harm is not only done for the attention of others. Sometimes it’s a way that people

“Why Teenagers Cut, and How to Help,” by Jessica Lahey was quite an interesting article to read. This article talked about many things associated with teenagers cutting themselves and how parents, teachers and other adults could help prevent teens from causing self-injuries such as cuts to the body. It first started with the author talking about a girl named Sarah that she met. Sarah was a 15-year-old teenager who was at the age of twelve causing self-injuries by cutting herself which she felt made her feel better do to one of her parents abusing her. The author used Sarah’s story to understand what causes teens to make self-injuries by asking “Dr. Michael Hollander who is the director of Training and Consultations of 3East Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program. This program is at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. As a matter of fact, he also is the author of “Helping Teens Who Cut: Understanding and Ending Self-Injury” ().

Self-harm patients are at a risk for suicide whether this is an intended outcome or a result of self-harm gone wrong. 25% of people who commit suicide will have been seen in a hospital setting for a self harm injury in the past 12 months (Emerson, 2010). As well, 72% of suicide victims under the age of 25 have had a history or self-harm behavior (as sited in Cook, Clency, Sanderson, 2004). These statists provide a strong argument for the importance of vigilance and ongoing monitoring when providing care for clients who display self-harm behavior. This paper will argue the importance for close monitoring when caring for self harm but not necessarily the prevention of self harm itself. Vigilance and monitoring are important However there is evidence that complete preventions is not necessarily the best approach to self-harm (Duffin, 2006).

The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing hair-pulling and the ingestion of substances or objects.The desire to self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However, patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and severe personality disorders.Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance

Muehlenkamp and Gutierrez (2004 p.12) define self-harming behavior as” the deliberate destruction or alteration of body tissue without suicidal intent.” The distinct made from suicide and self-harming behavior is by definition whereas self-harming behavior is a life preserving action and suicide is an end to life action. The contributing factor may be the individual’s values and beliefs on life and death.

There is a significant relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and suicidal ideation. Suicide ideators are individuals who have plans and wishes to commit suicide, but have not yet made any recent attempts. Since suicide ideation precedes suicide attempt, it is important to focus on the intensity, pervasiveness and characteristics of the ideation in order to assess suicidal intention and to predict future suicidal risk (article). The Scale for Suicidal Ideation is a 19-item scale that will be used to quantify the intensity of current suicidal intent by scaling various dimensions of self-destructive thoughts (Beck & Kovacs, 1979).

Suicidal attempts are another result of childhood maltreatment. Suicidal attempts are potentially life threatening. The Journal of Family Violence states that child abuse is an emotional, physical, economic and sexual maltreatment of a person below the age of eighteen (Saha, 2012, p. 213). Methods of prevention include family therapy, interventions and counseling (Saha, 2012, p.22). These techniques allow the adolescent to express their feelings without any fear of punishment or consequences with hopes of bringing emotional healing. Young adults with a history of childhood maltreatment were three times more likely to become depressed or suicidal compared with individuals without such a history (Saha, 2012, p. 214). Young adults rationalize that death is a more foreseeable option then continuing in their current situations. “Long-term mental health consequences of abuse in childhood include depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, difficulty establishing and maintaining relationships, eating disorders and suicidal attempts” (Saha, 2012, p. 215). These thoughts are rationalized due to the type or severity of the abuse they have been subjected to or may still be experiencing. Suicidal attempts are both mentally and physically harming to young adults.

Self harm is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for teens and adolescents each day. Studies show that 2 to 3 million American teens in some way or form endeavor to hurt themselves each year. There are many reasons why most teens decide to harm themselves, but there was one reason that stuck out. In an article titled “Teens Who Self-harm” Written by Marie Hartwell-Walker, it stated that some teens who harm themselves are generally not looking for a way to end their lives, but they are looking for a way to end emotional pain.

The intent to inflict harm to one self-consciously or unconsciously is the act of suicidal behavior. Adolescent’s thinking they are worthless as a result of one or more childhood adversities, such as child abuse (physical, sexual, emotional), living in a household of drug and alcohol abuse, observing violence against a parent or family member, poverty, and a family history or mental health further exacerbate likely hood of a child with suicidal or homicidal behavior. The behavior can quickly escalate to true gestures of suicidal. This includes having a plan to harm someone or themselves. Many adolescents feel life is not worth living and no one cares or understand them anyway, so it will not matter, if they were no longer alive. All too often, the children do not want to hurt themselves, just to be heard. No matter, if a child has a plan of execution of merely thinking of harming themselves, they should be taking seriously and to seek professional help, immediately. Young adults that have thoughts of suicide, the suicide-danger danger risk intensify when left untreated, (Hardt, Herke & Schier,

People who attempt self-harm often think of suicide. On the other hand, there is a saying that people who cut are ‘attention seekers’. Self-harm is difficult to explain, some say that “physical pain wipes out the mental pain for awhile” . Self-harming sends a ‘feel good’ vibe through your body which can make it an addictive pain. However, Self harm is not a mental illness. On the other hand, self-harm can come from disorders such as Personality Disorder, Eating disorder, and Anxiety disorder. People who do self-harm most likely have experienced neglect, abuse, or possibly a deeply disturbing or stressful experience. If a person does drugs or drinks they also could have a high possibility of self-harm. Drugs and Alcohol abuse all lower

There are several different types of way to inflict self-harm or non-suicidal self-injury. It is deliberately harming yourself with your own body. Some of the ways that people in flaked self harm is by cutting, burning, scratching till they bleed, pulling hair, punching themselves, and some that are not listed there are more. When you look at the percentage of people who are inflicting self-harm on oneself it is saddening. 90% of the people to begin to do self harm are between the ages of 12 and 24. Almost 50% of those who inflict self-injury have been sexually abused in some way. Females in themselves make up about 60% of those who do self harm. Cutting is seen more common in teens through young adulthood as a cry out to help or to get a "high" from the pain. We you are dealing with one who

My dissertation investigates the factors effecting the increase in male suicide rates. The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of why men are seemingly so content on committing suicide even though women are most commonly known to develop mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. I have considered the types of suicidal techniques as well as the biological and chemical factors that may have been an influential factor in this paradox. Through my research and further evaluation I have concluded that although the SKA2 gene seems a largely influential factor there is not enough evidence surrounding the research to fully support the case. I feel at this stage in scientific research and understanding the main cause of heightened

Deliberate self-harm is a term that covers a wide range of behaviours some of which are directly related to suicide and some are not. This is a relatively common behaviour that is little understood. This essay provides an overview of the nature and extent of those most at risk of self-harm, including causes and risk factors. Examining some of the stereotyping that surrounds self -harm, and looking at ways in which self-harm can be prevented.

It has been discovered that there is a relationship between abuse and late-life suicide. Newly found evidence has shown that child abuse whether it be physical, sexual or emotional, can affect suicide behavior and can be linked to many deaths. Studies have shown that life-time suicidal attempts and ideation tend to be three times greater in individuals who have a past related to sexual or physical abuse compared to individuals who haven’t had any of these experiences in their past. These higher risks may relate to the higher rates of psychiatric disorders found in victims of abuse. When a victim of childhood abuse is diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, whether it be severe or mild, the victim may already be unstable and have days where they are fine and others where they are not in their right mind. The instability of psychiatric disorders makes it that much easier for an individual who has had a past full of abuse to attempt or commit suicide. It is resulted that depression is a sign of suicidal behavior; however, different mediators can affect the extent of the suicidal behavior depending on the extent of abuse they have inflicted a child. Anxiety is another common psychiatric disorder that may cause a risk for suicide ideation, attempts or actual completions due to always being on edge, antisocial and insecure. Anxiety

Self-harm is a growing and troubling trend. It's a frightening disorder, most common among women, where hurt and alienation are expressed by injuring oneself. There are several kinds of self-harm. Self-mutilation and various eating disorders are among the most common forms of self-destruction. These forms of self-harm often lead to suicide. There are three types of self-mutilation. The rarest and most extreme form is Major self-mutilation. This form usually results in permanent disfigurement, such as castration or limb amputation. Another form is Stereo-typical self-mutilation. This usually consists of head banging, eyeball pressing, and biting. The third and most common form is Superficial self-mutilation. This involves cutting, burning,