The Despairing Act of Self Harm Essay

Warning signs for self-mutilation can be wearing covering clothing when it is warm out, and not letting people touch where they might be cutting themselves. It was once believed that people who self injure were just doing it for attention but recent studies have proven otherwise. A quote from the research from the CASE study in Europe stated that “The findings of this study show that adolescents who deliberately self-harm often report both cry of pain and cry for help motives. The majority of youngsters wanted to get relief from a terrible state of mind and/ or wanted to die with their act of self-harm. Although the study shows that there is also a cry for help, this type of motive seems to be less prominent than the cry of pain, which is inconsistent with the popular notion that adolescents deliberate self-harm is ‘only’ a cry for help (Scoliers, 2009). With this knowledge we need to make sure we help the children who are not only doing it to

Many people think that self-harm is no big deal. “It’s just for attention,” they say “they’re not really hurting themselves… right?” Wrong. Self-harm is a HUGE deal. In fact, it is 40-100 times more common than suicide. Suicide has been around for ages, while self-harm is a new trend that has been growing since the mid 1990’s, and the numbers are still skyrocketing. Self-harm was three times more common in 2011 than in 2007. Now, tell me that you think that that isn’t a big deal. Statistics show that 1% of the United States self-harms. So imagine you are in a room with 200 other people. It is likely that two of these people hurt themselves. Sometimes it is daily, other times it may just be occasional. Two people may not seem like a lot, but in reality it is.

According to Fowler, Crosby, Parks, and Ivey (2013), suicide and nonfatal suicidal ideations are significant public health concerns for adolescents and young adults. While the onset of suicidal behaviors is observed as young as six years of age, rates of death and nonfatal injury resulting from suicidal behavior are moderately low until 15 years of age (Fowler et al., 2013). According to Fowler et al (2013), the most current available statistics in the United States (U. S.) reported suicide as the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14 and 15-19 years, and it was the second leading cause of death among persons aged 20-24 years.

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

(2017). Preventing suicide: A technical package of policies, programs, and practices. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicideTechnicalPackage.pdf

The Brown University Child and Adolescent b Behavioral Letter 24.3 (2008): 1-4. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

“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 is an mental health issue that not a lot of people know about. Self harm is “...the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself” (www.mayoclinic.org). It is an issue that people do not like to talk about and especially in schools. Statistics showed that in 2014, 110% of teen girls per 100,000 self-harmed; and it has increased from 23% to 35% that teen boys self-harm (Michelle). Overall, about 15% of Canadian teenagers self harm (Kids Help Phone). Although many teenagers self harm, people do not think about if adults self harm. Statistics showed that in 2006, 54% of adults between the ages of 30 and 64 self harmed (Public Agency Of Canada). Those who self harm may be suicidal, but they do not

The guideline chosen for this discussion is the: Self-harm in over 8s: long-term management. This guideline discusses the long-term psychological treatment and management of single and recurrent episodes of self-harm. This guideline is a follow-up to a clinical guideline entitled Self-harm: the short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary care. This guideline was concerned with the treatment of self-harm within the first 48 hours of the incident. Both guidelines were developed with the help of multidisciplinary health professionals, individuals who self-harm and their families to help clinicians provide and plan the highest quality of care to people over the age of 8 years old whom self-harm (National Institute for Health and Care

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

Teens and young adults resort to various outlets with hopes of coping with the pressures they face. Some stress-relieving activities involve eating comforting food or watching TV. For some, however, these activities do not provide adequate stress relief, so they attempt to escape their anxieties through a recently recognized self-mutilating disorder called “cutting.” While gaining more attention in recent years, cutting is still not a well-known practice, yet an estimated 700 out of every 100,000 individuals self-mutilate (Froeschle). Even celebrities like Angelina Jolie have admitted to cutting (Mann). The best way to discourage the practice of cutting is to learn more about

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

Throughout the course of human history epidemic spurts of self-destructive behaviour have posed both pertinent philosophical and medical problems for societies all across the globe. Presently, in various ethnic communities spread across the world, rates of suicide, substance abuse, and other detrimental actions towards oneself display their highest rates among young people (CITE THIS). While much research has been facilitated on the vast degree and distribution of self-destructive behaviour, there continues to remain a vast disparity in the academic literature that focuses on the underlying causes of such action (CITE). My research will attempt to effectively contribute to this general lack of research-driven information through the

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.

Self-injury is an major issue in our society and schools need to do more to help teens handle mental issue. Self-injury is a complicated and often misunderstood phenomenon that is a growing problem in teenagers and adolescents (plante 1). Self-injury is also an dangerous act that can lead to a worst situation. Self-harm is not necessarily a serious mental illness, but a behavior that indicates a lack of coping skills. There are several illnesses that are associated with it such as: borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, anxiety or posttraumatic distress disorder. In recent years, Self-injury as become more common. Approximately two million cases are reported annually in the United States (Gluck 1). Hospitalizations among youngs for intentional self-harm