HidesInTheMusic Presents:


Self-Injury: Destructiveness in Need

Unfortunately, like many serious personality disorders, the subject of self-injury is void from many conversations, and has been dubbed taboo in todays American culture. Self-injury (SI), sometimes referred to as self-harm (SH), self-inflicted violence (SIV), or self-injurious behavior (SIB) refers to a spectrum of behaviors where demonstrable injury is self-inflicted, (Self-Injury). Forms of self-injury include cutting, scratching, hitting, burning, overdosing, and scalding, as well as picking the skin (Dermatillomania), ulceration, ingesting corrosive chemicals, preventing healing, bone-breaking, carving, and hair-pulling (Trichotillomania), (www.umw.edu). Today, more and more individuals suffer from self-destructive thoughts and actions. It is becoming more and more common in teenage years, and progressing into adulthood. With the inability to find other methods of coping with emotions such as anxiety, anger, and sadness, as well as experienced traumas and emotional stresses and strains, and personality infringements like depression, bipolar disorder, and developmental disabilities, people find self-injury to be a release. Physical and mental troubles are cause to self-injury, and are not the individuals fault. Society looks down upon these individuals with little regret for pushing these subjects to the backburner. Self-harm is both a physical and mental impairment, caused by limited Limbic System growth and development, as well as emotional trauma, abuse, stress, and is also a side effect of other behavioral disabilities. Self-injury is not the individuals fault.
It is always a question as to why these individuals would feel the need to harm themselves, and with many questions, come many medical, psychological and emotional answers. Scientifically, the Limbic System of the brain is responsible for integrating and changing emotions into moods. The Limbic System stimulates the production of endorphins, creating happiness. When the body receives injuries, the Limbic System causes the rapid production of endorphins, creating a high, (www.About.com). Many self-injurers become addicted to this feeling in the same way that drugs cause the same high, (Boeree). In a research survey I conducted through an online support community at DailyStrength.org, which hosts forums and community chat groups for those with illnesses, diseases, and disorders seeking advice, 128 individuals responded. One individual wrote, I would say it is just like a drug. It becomes something that you feel you cant live without. When it works once to fix a problem, you will try it again and see that it will work again. Eventually your small cuts arent enough and you cut more and more. You gain more tolerance. In many cases of self-injury, the individual was discovered to have an abnormally small Hypothalamus, part of the Limbic system of the brain. This particular part of this Limbic System regulates the response to pain, levels of pleasure, sexual satisfaction, anger and aggressive behavior, and more. It also regulates the functioning of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, which in turn means it regulates things like pulse, blood pressure, breathing, and arousal in response to emotional circumstances (www.webspace.html). The under-developed Hypothalamus is why those with personality disorders linked to self-injury also have high-blood pressure and elevated levels of aggression. When it is not fully developed, individuals are not as fully capable handling severe emotions as those with normal-sized Hypothalamuses. This is also why self-injury is linked to other clinical and personality disorders, and is not diagnosed as a single problem, but a group. Through the DailyStremgth.org surveys, many replied to having other personality disorders and emotional traumas in the past as well. Although the vast majority of those who self-injure do not do so with suicidal tendencies, 50% replied to past suicide attempts, 30.5% physical abuse, 32% Admitted a problem with stealing, 29.7% Anorexia, 28.9% sexual abuse, 25.8% Bulimia, 11.7% Alcoholism, 11.7% Drug Addiction, and a staggering 89.3% reported being diagnosed with Depression, or having severe feelings of depression. This data correlates to The American Psychiatric Associations categorization of mental disorders. The DSM IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, written by the American Psychiatric Association, categorizes clinical disorders as Axis I and personality disorders as Axis II, and suggests that the diagnoses most frequently assigned to self-injurers fall under the rubric of personality disorders, though self-injurers may recognize symptoms from both categories, (Conterio, 172). Most commonly, borderline personality disorder, BPD, is most frequently linked to those who self-harm. For that diagnosis to be fully accurate, four other symptoms much also accompany the individual. Those symptoms include: impulsiveness, abrupt mood swings, a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, inappropriate, intense anger, identity disturbance (uncertainty about self-image, sexual orientation, long-term goals, friends, values etc.), chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom, and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment (Conterio and Lader, 177). BPD has been given a bad reputation from skeptics because the majority of those diagnosed are women. However, this correlates directly with self-injury because men only represent less than 15% of those who self-harm. Self-injurers are mostly women because females are more likely to turn their emotions inward. Men who have the same emotional stress or traumas are more commonly those who turn their emotions outward, which results in physical violence toward others. Dusty Miller explains-
Women may be more apt to self-injury because many women think negatively about their bodies. Society places a lot of importance on a womans body. The ideal woman should be tall, thin, and beautiful. For most women, these standards are impossible to reach.
Many women feel they do not measure up to the women they see in movies, on television, and in magazines. They often believe that their worth as a person depends upon their bodies and their physical attractiveness. As a result, they begin to think that they are not valuable or important as people. For some of these women, their bodies become their enemies and the targets of their own violence. (Miller, 153)

According to the reports of the DailyStrength.org surveys, out of 128 questioned, 113 were female (88.3%), and only 14 were male (10.9%), one individual did not answer. There are many personality traits that men and women self-injurers share, including constant aim for perfection, the dislike of ones body, the inability to cope with strong emotions, the inability to release or express emotions to others, and frequent mood swings, (Ng, 44). The data about body shape concluded that 39.8% were never satisfied with their body type, 23.4% rarely, 21.9% sometimes, and only 6.3% reported often. Another question asked How often do you feel sexually attractive? and the results were- 33.6% never, 35% rarely, 21.9% sometimes, 6.3% often, 3.1% always. This data emphasizes the importance society places on body type, and the pressure and strains that is creates. Borderline Personality Disorder stems from these characteristics and the medias obsession with looks.
Not only is self-injury a cause from mental incapacities, but is a result from psychological, physical, and emotional damage as well. There are many personality traits that self-injurers share, including constant aim for perfection, the dislike of ones body, the inability to cope with strong emotions, the inability to release or express emotions to others, and frequent mood swings, Ng, 44).. Many self-injurers suffer from extreme physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse, and still many of those have an under-developed Limbic System. Anorexia, Bulimia, and BPD are all considered to be the primary disorder. Levenkrons explanation is-
self-injuring behavior remains secondary to the more prevalent symptoms that constitute the primary disorder. This remains a feature of the larger primary diagnosis. If we view all such disordered behaviors as a persons attempts to drive away emotional pain, then we see that self-injury is a small part of that repertoire. The method such patients rely on most to stave off emotional pain-the method of choice-belongs to the primary diagnosis, or disorder. (Levenkron, 72)

This means that self-injury is not the base problem, but dealing with severe emotions is. The only way many of these individuals know how to cope with intense feelings is to self-harm, which is a feature of the primary disorder. The inability to cope with emotions is the main reason for self-injury. In the DailyStrength.org survey, 100% answered that they self-injure to cope with overwhelming emotions, and/or confirm their existence due to feelings of numbness. A few of the participants even replied that they self-harm to punish themselves without killing themselves, or to prevent themselves from hurting others. In the DS survey, 87.5% reported feeling depressed, 76.6% were anxious, and 63.3% were confused. After they injure themselves, only 35.9% were still depressed, 27.8% confused, and only 14.8% were feeling anxious. The lowered feelings are cause to the brains release or endorphins, which calms the individual, as well as suppresses difficult emotions. Self-injury is a response to dealing with stressors. In the same survey, allowing for multiple answers to the question For what reason(s) do you self-injure? 89.1% answered family relationships, 85.2% emotional abuse, 39.1% romantic relationship, 33.6% bereavement, 28.1% physical abuse, 27.3% sexual abuse, and 85.9% answered that they self-harm because of a bad day or because of an argument with friend. For many people, a bad day, or a fight would not bring temptations of harming our bodies. This is an example that there are problems with the individuals reasoning abilities, as well as the psychological coping process. One type of self-injury, cutting, numbs the painful feelings and provides a sense of disassociation or detachment. This is described over and over again by cutters who are victims of sexual abuse. During cutting episodes, they escape painful memories and release pent-up anger. Like other addictive behaviors, self-mutilation is self-reinforcing-doing it makes the person want to do it more, and the intensity and frequency must increase for the desired effect of relief to be achieved, (Rebman, 66-67). The act of disassociating with reality is common during an episode. In the DS survey, many respondents admitted to disassociating with reality. When I asked, how do you feel when you SI, one particular individual replied to the question, I dont feel. I dissociate during the process. Another member of DS asked to share her answer, My goal of self-injury is to zone out and feel absolutely nothing. I get excited when I see my blood running down my leg and then my head sort of detaches itself from my body and I feel like Im floating. The disassociation is typical for those who self-harm because they often suffered from abusive situations. During the times of abuse, they would cause states equivalent to amnesia, to avoid remembering situations of pain. In doctor Levenkrons book, Cutting, he discusses a young woman named Jessica, who had been raped by her father from the age of five to the age of twelve. When she got her first period, he began to sodomize her so she could not get pregnant, until she was fourteen and threatened to tell school authorities. In therapy, Levenkron discovered that the way she was hurting herself was similar to the abuse she had received as a child, (Levenkron, 33-34). Cases like Jessicas are similar to the majority of those who inflict harm upon themselves because in many instances, the person abusing the individual is someone close, who is both loved and hated by the victim. Self-injury copes with the trauma, and is a way to avoid thinking about those situations when they arise because of the states of disassociation and amnesia that come from them.
Sadly, many therapists turn patients away, or refer them to other doctors because society harbors a poor view on the self-mutilator, who is looked upon with fear, anger, disgust, and revulsion, (Levenkron, 60). 90.6% of those in the DS survey responded that they want help, or have sought help in the past. However, they feel ashamed, and feel inhibited to disclose their feelings, or want of treatment. For family, it is necessary to look upon the scars and not feel disgust or anger toward the individual. It is a big step to be told about this problem, and it is necessary to not judge or pass blame. It is possible to help by being supportive without reinforcing the behavior. Majority of the stressors that cause SI are family and friend related. It is a scary time for the individual, everyone knows the feelings about SI, and it is important to remember to let them know that they can always talk about it. Some other ways of helping are to show concern for injuriesit is not helpful to withhold attention, and offer hugs or sit beside them. For families, creating a calm atmosphere is important, as well as working together to solve conflicts and dealing with crises. There are many things that can hurt an individuals healing, like being given ultimatums and lectures. Also, it is important not to yell, Display anger, tell them to just stop it, think of it as a phase or being for attention, punish or ground them, or injure yourself to show them how you feel. This only makes them feel worse, and will harm their reaching out for help. In the DS survey, two stories about a family and a friend stood out to me about unsupportive reactions: My family made me feel very uncomfortable. They just didnt understand when I told them. They thought I was crazy and my Mom thought it was her fault that I was doing all this to myself. She shouted and told me it would get infected. I couldnt believe that she believed that would matter to me and, My friend told me that she wouldnt talk to me again unless I stopped it. She did that because she cared, but it made everything a lot worse for me. It is important to remember that they reaching for you for help, and you should do whatever you can to not hurt them even more then they already do. As self-harm becomes more and more prevalent to todays society, desensitized thoughts about self-injury will also become more common. As more and more Americans are reaching for help, more is being understood about self-harm. As far as the argument about self-injury being the individuals fault and uninfluenced behavior, clearly, it is not the individuals fault, but behavior caused from abuse and underdeveloped or harmed brain system activity.












Work Cited


Alderman, Ph.D., Tracey. "Understanding & Responding to Self-Inflicted Violence." The University of Mary Washington. 1997. Counseling and Psychological Services of the University of Mary Washington. 30 Nov 2007 .
Anonymous, Doug. "Self-Injury Support Group." DailyStrength.org. 2007. DailyStrength, Inc.. 2 Nov 2007 .
Bailey, Regina. "Anatomy of the Brain: The Hypothalamus." About.com- Biology. About.com. 27 Nov 2007 .
Boeree, Dr. C. George. "The Limbic System." General Psychology: The Emotional Nervous System. 2002. Boeree Homepage. 30 Nov 2007 .
Conterio, Karen, and Wendy Lader, Ph.D. Bodily Harm: The breakthrough Healing program for Self-Injurers. 1st ed. New York: Hyperion, 1998.
Levenkron, Steven. Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.
Miller, Dusty. Women Who Hurt Themselves: A Book of Hope and Understanding. New York: Basic Books, 2004.
Ng, Gina. Everything You Need To Know About Self-Mutilation: A Helping Book for Teens Who Hurt Themselves. New York: The Rosen Publishing group, Inc., 1998.
"Self-Injury." Wikipedia. 02 Feb 2007. Wikipedia. 28 Nov 2007 .