More about self harm

[dreamer_easy]

I've been doing a little bit of reading online. I'm still finding no evidence that teens self-harm to fake depression because it's trendy. What I am learning is that self-harm is common, but sometimes dismissed as mere attention-seeking. (There is a hugely obvious parallel here with sexual assault which I am just not getting into.)

Thinking about it more, I realised that I have engaged in self harm on a few occasions - thankfully, I have never injured myself or even drawn blood. I have pulled my own hair, slapped myself in the face (this is quite funny to think about now - try and picture it!) and pushed the tip of a pen into my hand. Luckily these were all isolated occasions; my shrink explained that if you start hurting yourself, it can become powerfully addictive.

I think the most disturbing remark in the metaquotes discussion that prompted these postings was one about trendy kids making "shallow cuts on their wrists" - in other words, fake suicide attempts to grab attention. In fact, cutting on the arms is one of the most common forms of self-harm: on the occasions when I have felt the impulse to hurt myself, that's what I've felt like doing. And seemingly minor injuries can be the symptoms of major distress.

Check out this info from the UK's National Self Harm Network. Also, the one time I came close to cutting myself, a page of advice from Australia's Reach Out helped a lot.

Comments

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Good on you for saying all this.

Yes, there is a tendency for teens to act out to seek attention - a phase most of them grow out of (although in my experience, some just become senior company executives or minor civil servants instead) - and I can imagine that it *could* go as far as cutting oneself to get attention... But no one should ever be assuming that as the first explanation! *Especially* if there's evidence it's happened more than once. Kids sometimes do stupid things to look cool, or just to find out what it's like; but in such cases, once they realise the stupid thing *hurts* (or how badly it could hurt if it went wrong), they don't do it again!

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

But no one should ever be assuming that as the first explanation!\

Exactly right!