Self-Mutilation

Self-Mutilation

Self-Mutilation is a form of negative coping. Many young people in today’s society have turned to this self-inflicted treatment. The following are the most common forms of self-mutilation: cutting; burning; punching hard objects to inflict pain; hair pulling; and picking scabs and old wounds. There are other ways that a person self-mutilates; however, the forms stated have been found to be the most popular. Cutting is most often seen in female teenagers and is the number one form of self-mutilation. There are some teens that have serious depression problems and some that simply do as their fellow peers. Why do people cut to cope? “Cutters” cut themselves because it is a momentary release. The physical pain that the cut produces takes away from the emotional pain that the individual has. Some cut very lightly, just to rid their emotions. But there are others that need more. They may cut their entire body because after the rush from the pain is over, the emotions come back. Self-mutilation does not mean suicide. Many self-injurers have no intention of dying, but sometimes their ‘cuts’ go too deep. Self-mutilation is an addiction. A person can get can get addicted to turning to self-mutilating when they are upset and not ever cope with their problems in a healthy way. Some even stop being able to cry. Crying is a very healthy way of coping. This natural action of releasing emotion is replaced with self-inflicted pain.

Signs

Those who inflict pain on themselves usually hide it from the world. Some are easier to spot out than others. If an individual seems very unsocial and depressed, they may have this problem (however, not all depressed individuals use this form of coping). One of the major signs of self-mutilation is when a person tries to hide parts of their body that are generally shown. For instance, cutters may wear long sleeve shirts in the middle of summer. They may also wear an excessive amount of bracelets to cover the scars on their...