Positive And Negative Effects On Self-Mutilators

Self-mutilation is the deliberate, direct destruction or alteration of one’s body without suicidal intent. It is meant to be a way of coping with one’s emotions and to calm the hatred and rage within oneself. Before recent studies, it was thought to be a crazy, masochist act and although self-mutilators tend to have some psychological disorders they are no longer considered crazy. Due to these recent studies, there are also many ways to help stop and overcome self-mutilation. The average self-mutilator has two goals. One being that their acts of self-harm are kept a secret because they feel no one would understand and people would just label them as crazy. The second goal is to have control of themselves. “It’s a way to have control over my

The average self-mutilators aim to be perfect to feel accepted, but when they fail to live up to expectations they turn to self-harm. They have negative thoughts about who they are and how they look. They have a hard time expressing and coping with their emotions which consecutively leads to frequent mood swings. Everything just seems mixed up in their heads and they do not know how to fix it. Self-harm is their way of coping and their escape.

Two categories have been made for the types of self-harm; they are either mild or extreme. The most common way of mild self-harm is cutting. “Cutters” use any sharp objects such as blades, knives, glass, etc. to fulfill their needs. Seeing the blood flow out is like seeing all the stress, anger, and sadness leave their bodies. They tend to cut areas of their bodies that can easily be covered which usually consists of their arms, legs, and chests. It relieves and relaxes

Remembering traumatic events can cause a person to return to their self- harming ways. Not feeling good enough and being rejected either by parents, friends, and even strangers can also make them self-harm. Social media now also can trigger self-mutilators. Blogs that glorify self-harm have been created and when people come across those types of pages they tend to miss the feeling of self-harm. “It’s just that everyone feels the same. I know they’re not going to judge me for self-harming,” [says Anouscka, a fourteen- year- old cutter]. “It’s nice to know that you can tell your story without being judged” (Dewey 1). Those blogs are made by teenagers who also self- harm and those blogs become their safe haven where they can share and vent without feeling insecure or judged. They also show explicit pictures of cuts and burns and tend to have a lot of depressing quotes that beautify self-harm and make it seem like a good trend and people fall for