What to Do if You Know Someone Engaged in Self Harm

Seeing that a teen has unusual scars that may exist the event of self-impairment can exist jarring for many people, who may not know how to respond. But to those who hurt themselves, the act is straightforward, says Susan Lindau, adjunct professor with the Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck Schoolhouse of Social Piece of work. Someone experiencing deep psychological hurting self-harms to find temporary relief from mental anguish.

Many times, "the emotion is and then overwhelming, and so painful, that self-impairment is used to have the consciousness off of the psychic pain and onto the physical," Lindau said.

In other words, the concrete self-harm diminishes the psychic pain considering the private can run across the affect equally well as feel the injury which often distracts from the overwhelming emotional pain, she explains.

For those who want to intervene, simply wrapping their minds around the concept of self-harm tin be a claiming. Only understanding the intention for self-harm can increase a person's empathy and ability to help those in demand, she said.

What Is Cocky-Harm and Why Practice People Cocky-Damage?

Self-harm tin be classified in a number of ways, just many health experts refer to self-harm every bit nonsuicidal cocky-injury (NSSI). NSSI is the deliberate injury or damage of one's body without suicidal intent. Behaviors that cause injury merely are considered more than culturally and socially adequate, such as piercings and tattoos, practice not generally fall under the category of NSSI. Common forms of NSSI include:

• Cut
• Scratching
• Burning
• Biting
• Carving
• Hitting
• Punching
• Head banging

These actions are maladaptive coping mechanisms for regulating particularly negative emotions such equally pain or anger. Lindau, who has a private practice working with severely depressed, chronically suicidal individuals, said people who self-harm can sometimes have similar physical and psychological responses to their behaviors as people with addictions do when they have the urge to drink alcohol or use drugs. Those with eating disorders also feel similar psychological relief through their behaviors, she added. These behaviors all fall into the category of addictive behaviors.

In a 2018 meta-synthesis of qualitative studies of self-harm amidst immature people, researchers set out to decipher the purpose of self-impairment as understood past the person engaging in the act. They identified four overarching functions:

Functions of Cocky-Harm every bit Understood past the Person Engaging in the Act

i. To obtain releaseor relief from a burden or intense feeling.

Adolescents said that self-harm acted every bit a necessary release from pressure or distress. In some cases, they expressed self-hate. However, others described the act equally allowing them to experience a rush of positive feelings, like to an addiction, or simply to experience alive.

two. To gain command over and cope with difficult feelings.

Adolescents explained that acts of self-harm enabled them to rid themselves of emotional hurting sometimes associated with traumatic incidents. Information technology was described every bit giving them a sense of control when feeling alienated or helpless; it could assist them feel numb or neutral.

3. To represent unaccepted feelings.

Adolescents described difficulty finding the right words to express their feelings and affirm themselves. They expressed a desire to protect friends and family from their feelings and from finding out that they were engaging in these behaviors.

4. To connect with others .

For some adolescents, cocky-harming allowed them to connect to a grouping who share similar problems and feel like outsiders, too. It was also used to limited pain to others and ask for assistance.

Life is complicated, especially for adolescents, Lindau said. And many of them are dealing with serious issues like divorce, their first relationships and peer pressure to potable. But it'south imperative to underscore that self-harm is never an appropriate manner to deal with problems.

"We demand to teach them how to manage a crisis,'" Lindau said.

What Is the Prevalence of Self-Impairment?

A 2011 study on cocky-harm found that the prevalence of lifetime NSSI amid adults in the United States was approximately 5.9 percentage, with ii.7 percentage reporting that they had engaged in NSSI five or more than times. Just under 1 per centum said that they had engaged in NSSI in the past twelvemonth.

However, prevalence is higher in younger populations. A 2012 international meta-analysis of 52 studies indicates that nigh 17 percentage of adolescents engaged in NSSI at to the lowest degree in one case.

In another 2018 study, researchers specifically looked at NSSI among loftier school students in the United States. They found that about eighteen percent of high school students engaged in NSSI in the by yr, with the prevalence higher among girls (23.viii percent) than boys (11.3 pct).

Go to a tabular version of data at the bottom of the page comparison the prevalence of NSSI among loftier school students amid different demographic categories.

The same study provides details on the association between NSSI and specific health risks for loftier schoolhouse students. Drug and alcohol use, fighting, cyber-bullying, beingness forced to have sex and identifying as a sexual minority were all associated with NSSI. Depression, suicidal thoughts, making suicide plans and suicide attempts were similarly associated with engaging in self-harm.

The Connectedness Between NSSI and Suicide

In a literature review published in 2016, authors examined the connection between NSSI and suicide. NSSI and suicidal behaviors share a number of take a chance factors including depression, substance misuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, history of abuse or violence, and family dysfunction. Frequent NSSI itself and some specific types of NSSI are also highly ranked risk factors for suicide.

One subtheme of the review is Thomas E. Joiner'south interpersonal theory of suicide as ane potential explanation for how NSSI tin lead to suicide. Joiner theorizes that people need both the want to die by suicide and the capability, only most people fear physically hurting themselves. Multiple acts of self-harm erode that fearfulness and pain, increasing a person's adequacy to harm themselves and eventually die by suicide.

How Tin can Yous Help if You See Someone Engaging in Self-Harm?

There are oft telltale signs a person is engaging in self-damage. Lindau said to exist on the spotter for the following signs:

They take red cuts, burns, gashes or bruises on their hands, wrists, stomach or thighs. These are common sites of self-harm; withal, self-injury can happen anywhere on the body.

They engage in other unusual physical behaviors such as chronic hair pulling or self-damaging itching and picking that leads to serious haemorrhage, bruising and scarring.

They habiliment long-sleeved shirts and other clothing that covers up their body in warm weather — a sign they may be covering up self-inflicted cuts and burns.

They follow social media accounts that promote self-harming behaviors and share links to cocky-harm how-to videos.

Treatment for NSSI can often involve individual or grouping therapy and usually begins subsequently the patient has undergone a psychological evaluation to determine whether they have depression or suicidal thoughts. The evaluation will aid to assess what stressors may exist contributing to the patient'due south perceived need to self-harm and what functions self-damage is serving. If the patient needs specific treatment for underlying mental health atmospheric condition, those are treated outset.

Therapy focuses on behavioral interventions, teaching skills such every bit emotional regulation, self-direction, mindfulness and effective advice to fill up the needs that self-impairment serves in a healthy fashion. Educating friends and family unit is an important component of handling because they tin assistance to make safety plans and implement de-escalation strategies.

Self-Impairment Intervention Strategies for Loved Ones

Self-harming behaviors are serious and require the help of a professional, just there are things loved ones can do to support someone who is self-harming. The MSW@USC asked Lindau for strategies that family and friends tin apply if they know someone struggling with self-impairment.

Ameliorate Communication

• Encourage them to talk nigh their bug with you, a therapist or even an online resource or support hotline.
• If you're a parent, pry. Exercise not ignore your gut. Say, "I'm worried about you lot. Let'southward talk about what'southward going on," and "I may be a worrywart. Tell me what'due south going on." Or, "You haven't told me as much every bit you ordinarily do," and "Can you lot show me your arm? I am afraid you might injure yourself." Hostile response can be expected.
• Don't ask them why — it puts people on the defensive. It's better to say, "I hear you — how practise you lot experience nigh that?"

Provide Distraction

• Assistance them supersede self-harming behaviors with physically healthy behaviors, such as a brisk run or intense xx-infinitesimal workout. Encourage them to practice cocky-care, such as taking a bathroom, when the urge to self-harm rears up. Fifty-fifty sticking your face in a bowl of water ice water can shock the impulse part of the encephalon and stop the momentary want to cocky-harm. The idea is to have the focus off of self-harm long enough for the intense urge to cocky-damage to diminish.
• Teach STOP:Terminate what you're doing.Accept a deep breath.Notice what it felt similar to have that deep breath.Proceed with what yous were doing.
• Practice paced breathing together. Observe a tranquillity place and focus on measured breathing and counting in and out for 10 minutes. You'll probably see results within iii minutes.

Get Aid

•  If they're an developed and the urge is overwhelming, tell them to drive to the emergency room and sit down in the waiting room for an hour; if the urge to hurt themselves does not diminish after almost an hour, they should register with the front desk-bound and ask for professional help. "We have to help them acquire to manage the urge to self-harm," Lindau said.
• If you encounter claret, take them to the physician or your nearest urgent care facility or emergency room for professional person help. Remember, if a person's self-harming behaviors are escalating and have become life-threatening, supporting them at dwelling isn't enough.

If you or somebody you know needs assistance, in that location are a number of places you can reach out to for assist:

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
• The National Hopeline Network, which can be reached at 1-800-442-4673.
• The Trevor Lifeline, which can be reached at 1-866-488-7386 and offers services for LGBT individuals.
• The Crisis Text Line, which can be contacted past texting "Abode" to 741741.
• To Write Love on Her Artillery, which offers tools to help locate mental health resources in your surface area.

Annotation: This article has been published for informational purposes only and does non represent a medical opinion. If you or a loved ane are exhibiting signs of cocky-harm, you lot should consult with a mental health professional.

The following section includes tabular data from the graphic in this post.

Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) amidst High School Students at least one time in the past year (2015) ↑

Source: Monto, Thou. A., McRee, Northward., Deryck, F. S. (2018). Nonsuicidal self-injury among a representative sample of Usa adolescents, 2015.American Periodical of Public Wellness,108(8), 1042–1048. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304470

Share this on social media:

Facebook |  LinkedIn |  Twitter

Citation for this content: The MSW@USC, the online Master of Social Work program at the University of Southern California.

fedorapocran.blogspot.com

Source: https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/self-harm-nssi-prevention-intervention-strategies/

Share this post