I take a knife and place it to my wrist and cut deep watching the blood drip down ever so slowly, one drop at a time relieving me of the pain I feel making it so every one can see, They can see my pain but no one help me because I am different BECAUSE I cut and not cry, they all are too late any way my blood is running down my arm I feel a little less pain now I am just a mutation of the human race I don’t belong all I can do is just cut. By: Darshan a Dave Did you know that the prevalence of self-injurious behavior is put in the range of 700 to 1, 400 cases per 100, 000 population (Self Injury-A Search). Self mutilation is a serious mental disease and it does have specific causes, it also is very hard to detect and even harder to treat. A self mutilator is hard to point out because some of the “Normal” or “Average” looking people are self mutilators. Most of them have a mental illness and they don’t even know about it. When they are confronted by others, they tend to close their self out from the rest of the world.
That is why it is very important to confront them with caution because it just might push them off the edge. Most people don’t know what self mutilation is. Self mutilation is when a person deliberately harms body tissue without the conscious intent to commit suicide. It is an intentional act (Self Injury-A Search). This type of act is also a voluntary act of harming themselves (Now Chang-Self Mutilation). Self-Injurious behavior or SIB is also referred to as self-harm, self-abuse, and self-mutilation (When The Cut).
Most mutilators self injure by scaring, burning, carving, and even picking and pulling off the own skin and hair (Now Change-Self Mutilation). The most common mutilator is a cutter. Cutters are people who cut their own skin with sharp objects such as razors and knives. Cutters also cause major tissue damage and profuse bleeding. The is the most dangerous type of self mutilation because some of these people cut deep into their arms and may cut a vein or two and die (When The Cut).
The second most dangerous mutilator is a person who carves or burners. The carvers are people who are addicted to getting tattoos. The burners like putting their hands on stoves, and other hot items, to see how much they can take before they have to remove their hand. There is also a culturally sanctioned self mutilator. These people are into rituals and practices.
Then harm themselves for what they believe in. There are also compulsive self-injury. It is when repetitive and ritualistic acts are multiple occurrences in a day. The compulsive Self Injurer is a hair puller and or a skin picker.
A episodic self injurer is a person who sometimes harms their body. They don’t identify themselves as “cutters” or “Burners.” A repetitive self injurer is a person who describes themselves as being addicted to their self harm (Self Injury-A Search). Most of these self injuerres cut or burn themselves on places others will never see and each person has their own reason for how they self harm (Self Injury & Self Mutilation). “Why do most people cut?” is the most frequently asked question. Most adolescents who have difficulty talking about their feelings and showing their emotional tension, physical discomfort, pain, and low self-esteem with self injurious behaviors.
Most cutters say they cut to cope. They deal with their emotions by harming themselves. Some of them cut to take risks, rebel, reject their parents values, to find individuality and sometimes just to be accepted. Most of them are desperate to get attention, so they show their helplessness and worthlessness by cutting (Self Injury & Self Mutilation). Two million people across the country and across all age groups engage in this behavior and often as a cry for help. For some of these people self harm becomes a way of life, a way of coping when the intensity of their life experience becomes overwhelming (Now Change-Self Mutilation).
A self harmer sometimes claims to have been scratched by a cat, fallen down the stairs, or burned there self with a curling iron. To them self injury is an addiction, an adrenaline rush from cutting. These injuries are not easy to hide. Scares and bruises accumulate quickly and don’t fade easily (When The Cut).
The best places for secret cuttings are in places most people never look. Some common places are along the upper thigh, a little below the shoulder, the chest, the back, upper sides and usually anywhere else that is always covered (Secret Cuttings). All of the major self-mutilation acts, such as castration, amputation, and eye enucleation, are most commonly associated with psychotic states (Self Injury-A Search). They usually suffer from serious psychiatric problems such as depression, psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder P. T. S.
D, and bipolar disorder (Self Injury & Self Mutilation). They all have certain signs that help see them and find ways to help them. What are the signs of a self mutilator? This is a question that many parents ask so they can be cautious when they bring up their children. The truth is that there is no ‘typical’s elf-injurer but it’s possible to build an image of the ‘typical’s elf-injurer.
A self-injurer is typically female, although recent statistics put the number of males and females who self harm at about equal (Self Injury-Self Mutilation). Some of these signs include people who are not able to trust easily, have one or two friends, want attention but never receive it until they do outrageous things, and seem to be in their own world most of the time. Even with these signs people could not tell them apart from the public. Most of the signs relate to someone who can’t control or show their emotions (Self Injury-A Search).
People have to be very cautious when they confront a person they think self mutilates. Every person has a different reaction after being confronted with secret cuttings. Some can be dangerous and life threatening (Secret Cuttings). People should try to talk to them about their feelings and just be their for them. Show them that they are worthy of their trust and that they would never emotionally hurt them.
Once that person has gained their trust they will open up. People should not rush them! This might take a while but if people really want to help them give them all the time they need (Self Injury-A Search). If people think they have given them enough time and they are still not responding to them then there are ways to get help. There are many different ways to get help for a friend or loved one who self mutilates. Programs are provided by experts in psychiatry, psychology, clinical social work, counseling, nursing, expressive therapy, and addiction counseling. For more information about self-injury and treatment programs you can also call Rock Creek Center at 1-800-now change (1-800-669-2426).
The number one priority is to help individuals move toward discharge and achieve their highest levels of function. Try to help the friend by taking them to group therapy. In group therapy they will learn how to trust others (NC-SM). Heare are some helpful ways for adolescents to avoid harming themselves “-To gain self control -Self awareness -Writing journals and behavior logs -Accept reality -Identify feelings and take them out rather them acting on them. -Stop, think, and evaluate the pros and cons of self- injury -Soothe themselves in a positive, non injurious way -Practice positive stress management -Develop better social skills.” (Self Injury & Self Mutilation) Parents of self mutilators can also play an important part in helping their children cope with the problem.
Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about respecting and valuing their bodies. Parent should also serve as role models for their teenagers by not engaging in acts of self-harm (Self Injury & Self Mutilation). Parents should find out information and learn more about self mutilation before they try to take action. A helpful fact that parents should know is that self injury begins during adolescence, peaks during the twenties, and declines or disappears in the thirties.
Parents should also know that self injurers speak of their wounds and their scars as being a way to see the pain they feel inside (Self Injury & Self Mutilation). So parents please take proper precaution when dealing with a self mutilator. Self-injury exists whether it is talked about or not! Keeping it in silence reinforces the sense of shame that many feel about their self injury. Whether people know what to say or not, letting the self injurer know that people are willing to talk about self injury is one way of providing support. After I did my paper on self mutilation, I found out how dangerous it is, and I found many ways to help my friends who self mutilate to stop. Even though there are medications being tried with some success, there is no magic pill for stopping self harm.
I think the only way to stop self harm is to let people know that they need to be able to talk about their feelings and not be scared to trust people. “Now Change-Self Mutilation.” 11 May 2001. “Secret Cuttings.” 11 May 2001. “Self- Injury: A Search For Understanding.” 11 May 2001.
“Self-Injury and Self-Mutilation.” 11 May 2001. “When The Cut Goes In Deep~~Self Injury.” 11 May 2001.