Articles: Is Self-Mutilation a Disorder?
By Jennifer Miller
Self mutilation is real. Very real. And it seems as though it is becoming a new trend, especially among the youth of today's world. But is it an actual psychiatric disorder? Should it be classified as an illness and included in the "bible" of psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic Statistics Manual?
Self mutilation is also known as self injury or cutting. This infliction strikes more women than men, and the most common way of self injury is cutting oneself with sharp objects like knives, razor blades, or sharp glass. It is estimated that 80 percent of self mutilators are women who are usually in their teens and early twenties. Even children as young as three or four will engage in acts of self mutilation, but it is not common. Most self mutilators come from middle class families.
It used to be that self mutilation was commonly seen in eating disorders and people with Borderline Personality Disorders, or had been sexually abused as a child, but these days, it seems like a lot more people are participating in this dangerous act.
People who usually self injure:
* strongly dislike themselves
* do not take rejection well
* are constantly angry, usually at themselves
* tend to hide their true feelings and their anger
* have high levels of aggression
* are impulsive in nature
* tend not to plan for the future
* are depressed or suicidal
* suffer from a high amount of anxiety
* seem to be often irritable
* do not have good coping skills
* do not have a flexible repertoire of coping skills
* do not think they have much control over anything
* tend to be socially avoidant
Types of self-injurious behavior reported were as follows: Cutting: 72 percent Burning: 35 percent Self-hitting: 30 percent Interference w/wound healing: 22 percent Hair pulling: 10 percent Bone breaking: 8 percent Multiple methods: 78 percent (included in above)
There are a lot of reasons why people self-injure. In the case of a person who has been sexually abused, cutting may be a way of gaining some control. A self-injurer might console themselves with the statement "Now I control my pain, not my abuser." In the case of people with eating disorders, it is usually an issue of low self esteem and a lot of self hatred. Cutting also has a ritualistic feel to it, something people with eating disorders are already intimate with. Some people self injure to block out their pain, some do it to feel pain. Some people do it as a cry for help or attention. They are in a lot of pain and they want people to sit up and take notice. There is even a theory that girls do it to make themselves less attractive, especially girls who were sexually abused in the past.
Although self injury is becoming rapidly prevalent, is it an actual disorder? That is hard to determine at this point; most self injurers have other, more disturbing problems that drove them to injure themselves in the first place. Researchers continue to debate this issue, and are not able to determine the answer. In a society where some people think that too many people are using mental disorders as labels or excuses, do we really need yet another "mental disorder"? No, we really don't. Hopefully, people will soon be able to address self mutilation as it should be; a the symptom of a bigger problem.
If you or someone you know self injures, you are not alone. There is a network of support out there. Find out more information by visiting the links below.
Self mutilation is also known as self injury or cutting. This infliction strikes more women than men, and the most common way of self injury is cutting oneself with sharp objects like knives, razor blades, or sharp glass. It is estimated that 80 percent of self mutilators are women who are usually in their teens and early twenties. Even children as young as three or four will engage in acts of self mutilation, but it is not common. Most self mutilators come from middle class families.
It used to be that self mutilation was commonly seen in eating disorders and people with Borderline Personality Disorders, or had been sexually abused as a child, but these days, it seems like a lot more people are participating in this dangerous act.
People who usually self injure:
* strongly dislike themselves
* do not take rejection well
* are constantly angry, usually at themselves
* tend to hide their true feelings and their anger
* have high levels of aggression
* are impulsive in nature
* tend not to plan for the future
* are depressed or suicidal
* suffer from a high amount of anxiety
* seem to be often irritable
* do not have good coping skills
* do not have a flexible repertoire of coping skills
* do not think they have much control over anything
* tend to be socially avoidant
Types of self-injurious behavior reported were as follows: Cutting: 72 percent Burning: 35 percent Self-hitting: 30 percent Interference w/wound healing: 22 percent Hair pulling: 10 percent Bone breaking: 8 percent Multiple methods: 78 percent (included in above)
There are a lot of reasons why people self-injure. In the case of a person who has been sexually abused, cutting may be a way of gaining some control. A self-injurer might console themselves with the statement "Now I control my pain, not my abuser." In the case of people with eating disorders, it is usually an issue of low self esteem and a lot of self hatred. Cutting also has a ritualistic feel to it, something people with eating disorders are already intimate with. Some people self injure to block out their pain, some do it to feel pain. Some people do it as a cry for help or attention. They are in a lot of pain and they want people to sit up and take notice. There is even a theory that girls do it to make themselves less attractive, especially girls who were sexually abused in the past.
Although self injury is becoming rapidly prevalent, is it an actual disorder? That is hard to determine at this point; most self injurers have other, more disturbing problems that drove them to injure themselves in the first place. Researchers continue to debate this issue, and are not able to determine the answer. In a society where some people think that too many people are using mental disorders as labels or excuses, do we really need yet another "mental disorder"? No, we really don't. Hopefully, people will soon be able to address self mutilation as it should be; a the symptom of a bigger problem.
If you or someone you know self injures, you are not alone. There is a network of support out there. Find out more information by visiting the links below.