Eating disorders are real, complex medical and psychiatric illnesses that can have serious consequences for health, productivity and relationships. With practice, everyone can do a better job of dealing with their negative emotions in healthy ways.
By engaging in self-injury, a person intends to: Obtain relief from a negative feeling or mental state Resolve an interpersonal difficulty, like a disagreement with a friend or loved one Deal with an intrapersonal problem, like boredom Induce a positive feeling state [3]. Warning Signs. Warning signs that someone may be injuring themselves include: Unexplained frequent injuries including cuts and burns, Low self-esteem, Difficulty handling feelings, Relationship problems or avoidance of relationships, and Poor functioning at work, school or home.
Self-Injury and Suicide. Medication is often useful in the management of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and the racing thoughts that may accompany self-injury.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT would work to identify that negative thought pattern, challenge it, and replace it with a thought pattern that is more realistic and positive. This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be a substitute for medical advice. These disorders are very complex, and this post does not take into account the unique circumstances for every individual. For specific questions about your health needs or that of a loved one, seek the help of a healthcare professional.
Psychology Behind Cutting Self Harm: Looking at the Underlying Causes Self-harm is the act of hurting oneself, whether it is physical or emotional, intentional, or non-intentional. The psychology behind emotional self-harm Emotional self-harm ranges from telling ourselves we are not good enough and becoming our own worst enemy to engaging in a pattern of destructive friendships and relationships.
Reasons individuals engage in self-harm To feel a sense of control Express pain As a distraction As punishment To feel pleasure To feel anything at all The psychology behind the treatment for self-harm Psychotherapy is the mainstay treatment for individuals who engage in self-harm behaviors, whether it is physical or emotional self-harm.
Search Blog. The help of a mental health professional might be needed for major life troubles or overwhelming emotions. For other tough situations or strong emotions, it can help put things in perspective to talk problems over with parents, other adults, or friends. Getting plenty of exercise also can help put problems in perspective and help balance emotions. But people who cut may not have developed ways to cope. Or their coping skills may be overpowered by emotions that are too intense. When emotions don't get expressed in a healthy way, tension can build up — sometimes to a point where it seems almost unbearable.
Cutting may be an attempt to relieve that extreme tension. For some, it seems like a way of feeling in control. The urge to cut might be triggered by strong feelings the person can't express — such as anger, hurt, shame, frustration, or alienation. People who cut sometimes say they feel they don't fit in or that no one understands them.
A person might cut because of losing someone close or to escape a sense of emptiness. Cutting might seem like the only way to find relief or express personal pain over relationships or rejection. People who cut or self-injure sometimes have other mental health problems that contribute to their emotional tension. Cutting is sometimes but not always associated with depression, bipolar disorder , eating disorders, obsessive thinking, or compulsive behaviors. It can also be a sign of mental health problems that cause people to have trouble controlling their impulses or to take unnecessary risks.
Some people who cut themselves have problems with drug or alcohol abuse. Some people who cut have had a traumatic experience, such as living through abuse , violence, or a disaster. Self-injury may feel like a way of "waking up" from a sense of numbness after a traumatic experience. Or it may be a way of reliving the pain they went through, expressing anger over it, or trying to get control of it. Although cutting may provide some temporary relief from a terrible feeling, even people who cut agree that it isn't a good way to get that relief.
For one thing, the relief doesn't last. The troubles that triggered the cutting remain — they're just masked over. People don't usually intend to hurt themselves permanently when they cut.
And they don't usually mean to keep cutting once they start. But both can happen. It's possible to misjudge the depth of a cut, making it so deep that it requires stitches or, in extreme cases, hospitalization. Cuts can become infected if a person uses nonsterile or dirty cutting instruments — razors, scissors, pins, or even the sharp edge of the tab on a can of soda.
Most people who cut aren't attempting suicide. Cutting is usually a person's attempt at feeling better, not ending it all. Although some people who cut do attempt suicide, it's usually because of the emotional problems and pain that lie behind their desire to self-harm, not the cutting itself.
Cutting can be habit forming. Back to Self-harm. Self-harm may be linked to bad experiences that are happening now, or in the past. But sometimes the reason is unknown. There are many possible causes of emotional distress.
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