Self-Injury In Adolescents

Maryanne Dyke
Self-injury in the Adolescent Years
Ms. Crawford
HSB 4M1
May 21st 2013

With an increase in stress and anxiety in adolescents, some are choosing to cope with the emotional discomfort by a means of self harm called cutting. Cutting is a self injurious behavior where an individual uses an object that is sharp that is used to cause physical pain and is usually used to compensate for the emotional tension that one is experiencing. In previous times, it was thought that it was an attempt at taking one’s life, but professionals are now stating that it is not necessarily true but it is a coping mechanism that some may choose in order to stay alive. Parents and other adults that the individual trusts have to
adolescents need to know if they report someone engaging in self harming behavior they need to tell an adult as soon as possible so that the individual engaging in the harmful behavior can be helped and receive proper treatment. Training for parents, teachers, guidance counselors and other professionals may help reduce the amount of students who are choosing self-injury as a way to deal with their problems.

Self-injury is a complex and a commonly misunderstood phenomenon in the adolescent population (Plante, 2007). Self harm is a dangerous and pervasive problem during the adolescent years (Nock, Teper & Hollander, 2007). In more recent times, the problem of self-injury has become more common, it is now beginning at younger ages than ever before (Schneider, 2007). “self injury is a deliberate, non-suicidal behavior that inflicts harm on one’s body with the goal of relieving emotional distress”(WebMD, 2009). Self injury encompasses a lot of terms. Some include self injury, self harm and self mutilation. One who injures themselves have various means of doing so. Some include: cutting, burning, picking one’s scabs, punching self or objects, infecting oneself, inserting objects into body openings, bruising or breaking bones, some forms of
The chapter will also include recommendations relating to further research and suggestions for ways to inform individuals about self injury. Lastly, this chapter will include information for school counselors in order to help students who are engaging in self harming behaviour. The self injurer will intentionally harm themselves in places that cannot be seen easily by other people (Poland, 2008). Self injury is not well accepted by many people, especially when it is a family member or a loved one. Families, especially parents, have a challenging time understanding why someone they love is self harming. Parents often feel frustrated and angry when they find out that their child is self harming. Also, the history of the family and the situation that the child is living in can impact whether or not the individual may choose to hurt themselves. A few things that parents can do is be patient, communicate, avoid role-reversal, be a positive role model and lastly, seek help. School staff members need to work together as a team to effectively create a plan to identify individuals who self injure. Informing families may be difficult when their child is hurting themselves. There is no parent that wants to hear that their child is purposely inflicting pain on themselves. Since a variety of sources say that an individual may say different things on why someone may engage in such behaviours it is a challenge