Self-mutilation is becoming more and more prevalent in society today, specifically in Western culture. In fact, reports say that it is “estimated that 3 million people in the USA choose to cut, burn or cause other types of tissue destruction to themselves” (Hicks & Hinck, p. 408, 2008). As psychologists begin to take a more in-depth look into the complexity of this behavior, discussion and analytical thought are starting to emerge. With that comes discussion and debate on functions, attributes, antecedents, and even how self-mutilation should be defined.
With the various definitions for self-mutilation comes a few general ideas that are common across all literature. The most basic of them would be defining self-mutilation as “a deliberate act to
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One definition in particular said that self-mutilation is “the intentional act of tissue destruction with the purpose of shifting overwhelming emotional pain to a more acceptable physical pain” (Rissanen, Kylma, & Laukkanen, p. 576, 2011). This definition, at least for a psychological analysis, best describes what exactly self-mutilation is.
The literature also gives a detailed description on self-mutilation. Within the description are the attributes, functions or purposes, antecedents, and consequences of self-harm. Some theories state that the functions for self-harm can either be intrapersonal or interpersonal. “The term intrapersonal refers to functions aimed at altering an individual’s internal state (emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations), whereas the term interpersonal or social refers to functions that aim to change the external environment” (Dahlström, Zetterqvist, Lundh, & Svedin, p. 303, 2015). So, an example of intrapersonal function might be using self-mutilation as a way to relieve feelings like anxiety or sadness, or to punish themselves for doing something they perceived as wrong. An example of interpersonal function could be doing it
Self-harm, or self-mutilation, is the intentional action of harming oneself, generally without the intent to kill. It is estimated that over two million people self-harm in the United States alone (Pomere). When involved with depression, self-harm is generally used as a method of coping with stress and various feelings that they may be having. If depression manifests with feelings of inadequacies, one could feel like they deserve to be injured (Bartha). Over time, the act of self-injury could become an addiction. It could become an obsession (Pomere).
Murphy, E., Kapur, N., Webb, R., & Cooper, J. (2011). Risk assessment following self-harm: comparison of mental health nurses and psychiatrists. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 67(1), 127-139. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05484.x
It is estimated that about two million people in the U.S. self harm. Most teenagers or young adults with women outnumbering the men. They are of all races. In recent study, over 4000 self-harming adults are hospitalized per year. 80% of those hospitalized had overdosed and 15% were hospitalized for cutting.
Cutting is the leading method of self-affliction (“Self-Injury”). Some people harm themselves because of a lack of control over their life (“Self-Injury”). They feel like they have no ability to alter or change anything in their life. Self-harm provides a sense of being in control of one part of their life. Some people self-afflict themselves because they are punishing themselves. Through previous experiences, they feel guilty and decide to harm
A self-destruction Suicide is the act or an instance of intentionally killing oneself. Suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result. Suicide is a rarely ever a spur of the moment thing. The Susceptibility to suicide is lowest among those who have strong community ties. Today people continue to commit suicide for a variety of reasons: Love, insanity an...
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 body because I can’t control anything else in my life” (Smith 2). They normally feel that they cannot control any aspect of their lives, but they can control what they do with their bodies.
Non-suicidal self-injury, or self-mutilation is often referred to as an act of deliberately damaging oneself physically without any intention to commit suicide (Weierich, 2008). A history of childhood trauma may result in posttraumatic stress disorder among the adult victims and may eventually lead to non-suicidal self-harm (Sansone et al., 2009). In the present review, the relevant factors for non-suicidal self-harm such as childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse are investigated and it is hypothesized that by confronting with suicide attempts, self-injurious behavior among adults develop a relatively strong relationship with childhood victimization.
Styer, Denise M. "An Understanding of Self-Injury and Suicide." Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., Vol. 13, Supplement. Dec. 2006: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Do you know anyone who cuts themselves or harms themselves? Chances are you do and you don’t even know it. Self Harm is something that a lot of people go through. Some self harmers don’t even realize they are harming themselves because they are too occupied with getting their other pain to go away. Self harm is very dangerous and when people do it they typically do it to make themselves feel better or it “lets all the pain out through the cuts”. Self harm also creates the chance that the person harming themselves will die even if they aren’t intending to commit suicide.
Let us look into basic and generalized knowledge of self injury. Self injury (self harm or S.I.) is the act of harming yourself as a way of coping with emotional pain, frustration, and anger. Some view it as a suicide attempt or a precursor to a suicide attempt, but it is not a suicide attempt at all. Rather, it is a serious cry for help. When an individual turns to self injury, they look for an emotional release which gives them momentary calmness. “While self-injury may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions” (Self Injury 1). Self injury can also result in serious or even fatal injuries (1).
“Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain” (I-10). Ending a life is a big step in the wrong direction for most. Suicide is the killing of oneself. Suicide happens every day, and everyday a family’s life is changed. Something needs to be done to raise awareness of that startling fact. Suicide is a much bigger problem than society will admit; the causes, methods, and prevention need to be discussed more openly.
According to the World Health Organization health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (Bertolote pg.2). According to Merriam-Webster, suicide is the act of killing yourself because you do not want to continue living. Approximately 814,000 people died by suicide in 2000. Suicide rates have increased by 60% in the past 45 years. Suicide is one of the major causes of death of individuals ranging from 15-34 year olds.
Is there a common, agreed-upon definition of suicide? Throughout history, the word has had a variety of meanings, from the French Academy’s official definition in 1762 as “the murder of oneself” (Soubrier, 1993, p.35), to suicidologist Edwin Shneidman who wrote “suicide is a conscious act of self-inflicted cessation” (Shneidman, 1985, p.206). In such a way, suicide can be defined as the intentioned and destructive action to one’s interests or welfare by killing himself or herself, or of multiple people doing so (Barrett, 2010; Firestone, 1997). Suicide is a dramatic word that can change the way people view things in life. It is like a mystery that could happen to young, old, rich, and poor. In Malaysia, suicide rates are on the alarming state. It is a very serious problem and has been labeled as a growing epidemic by many health professionals in Malaysia (Tam et al., 2011). According to the National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) 2011, there was an average of 60 suicide cases per month, which means 2 suicides daily (Lum, 2013). Moreover, according to the report of a local newspaper in Malaysia, Nanyang Siang Pao (2010), there was 445 suicidal cases (347 males and 98 females) reported for the first eight months of 2010 as compared to 290 cases in 2008. Additionally, the suicide rates for those of 20-29 years old (108 cases) was significantly higher compared with other age groups (Nanyang Siang Pao, 2010). In order to minimize the suicide cases among students in Malaysia, peers play an important role by recognizing the warning signs, providing psychological support, and giving positive influences to their friends.
‘ Research indicates that self-injury occurs in approximately as many as 4% of adults in the United States. Rates are higher among adolescents, who seem to be at an increased risk for self-injury, with approximately 15% of teens reporting some form of self-injury. Studies show an even higher risk for self-injury among college students, with rates ranging from
Self-harm is a growing and troubling trend. It’s a frightening disorder, in which an individual who feels hurt and/ or alienated, expresses their feeling through injuring oneself. ‘‘ [Self-mutilation is] without any conscious suicidal intent’’. As said by Whitlock: ‘‘Self-harm is a [severely] overlooked public health issue’’ (Whitlock, 2011). On the other hand suicide is the act of intentionally causing death to oneself. Compared to the other centuries these two issues have sparked a major epidemic in the twentieth-first century for several reasons. Recently, this problem has been rapidly gaining popularity amongst teens. The main goal of this paper is to outline: the individuals at high risk, causes, effects, prevention and