Essay on Self harm

“Why Teenagers Cut, and How to Help,” by Jessica Lahey was quite an interesting article to read. This article talked about many things associated with teenagers cutting themselves and how parents, teachers and other adults could help prevent teens from causing self-injuries such as cuts to the body. It first started with the author talking about a girl named Sarah that she met. Sarah was a 15-year-old teenager who was at the age of twelve causing self-injuries by cutting herself which she felt made her feel better do to one of her parents abusing her. The author used Sarah’s story to understand what causes teens to make self-injuries by asking “Dr. Michael Hollander who is the director of Training and Consultations of 3East Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program. This program is at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. As a matter of fact, he also is the author of “Helping Teens Who Cut: Understanding and Ending Self-Injury” ().

Many people think that self-harm is no big deal. “It’s just for attention,” they say “they’re not really hurting themselves… right?” Wrong. Self-harm is a HUGE deal. In fact, it is 40-100 times more common than suicide. Suicide has been around for ages, while self-harm is a new trend that has been growing since the mid 1990’s, and the numbers are still skyrocketing. Self-harm was three times more common in 2011 than in 2007. Now, tell me that you think that that isn’t a big deal. Statistics show that 1% of the United States self-harms. So imagine you are in a room with 200 other people. It is likely that two of these people hurt themselves. Sometimes it is daily, other times it may just be occasional. Two people may not seem like a lot, but in reality it is.

In order to prevent future violent situations, people need to be educated about why youth self harm. When people self harm they may feel like they have lost touch with reality, “They say it eases their pain. That it clears their minds and makes them feel calm. But to those on the outside looking in, slicing your arm with a razor blade is the stuff of horror movies” (Galley). School violence is overtaking headlines, and teens are struggling with untreated mental illnesses, “Federal health officials recommended universal mental health screenings for students nearly a decade ago, they still aren’t required” (Kennedy). Schools would rather suspend or send mentally ill youth to an alternative program, then helping the student get the resources they

For instance, some adolescents cut their wrists. In America, self harm is considered a problem, no matter the reason for it. There are plenty of factors that could lead people to cut themselves.

The practice recommends that health and social care professions who work with people who self-harm aim to develop “trusting, supportive, and engaging relationships with them” (National Guideline Clearinghouse, 2011). To do this they must “ensure that people are fully involved in decision-making about their treatment and care” and provide them with autonomy (National Guideline Clearinghouse, 2011). In addition they should be asked if they would like their family, caregiver, or significant other to be involved in their care and provided the necessary consent. The person should have access to services despite their cultural background. Workers should be trained in assessing, treating, and managing self-harm. Workers should also be educated about the stigmas that are related to self-harm individuals. It is also important that workers understand the Mental Capacity Act. The Mental Capacity includes 5 principles including: assuming a person has the capacity

People that harm themselves may feel very lonely or disconnected and need a shoulder to cry on or someone to listen. Another misconception is that those who self-harm are suicidal. Although this can be the case and prolonged self-harm can increase a person’s risk for suicide and suicidal thoughts, most of the time self-harm is used as a way of coping. Some believe that only teenagers self-harm but this habit can continue into adulthood as well. Self-harm has many addictive qualities due to the fact that every time you harm yourself your body releases endorphins. Telling someone to stop hurting him or herself is like telling a person who drinks coffee every day to just stop. Chances are they

Self harm is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for teens and adolescents each day. Studies show that 2 to 3 million American teens in some way or form endeavor to hurt themselves each year. There are many reasons why most teens decide to harm themselves, but there was one reason that stuck out. In an article titled “Teens Who Self-harm” Written by Marie Hartwell-Walker, it stated that some teens who harm themselves are generally not looking for a way to end their lives, but they are looking for a way to end emotional pain.

In 1988, an evaluation was completed in Kentucky, where Korn reported massive amounts of “appetite loss, weight loss, visual disturbances, and heart palpitations” (Shalev 11). This evaluation was done in a maximum security prison for adults, so when you transfer the results to children, they would have extreme setbacks in their growth and physical development. While in the walls of solitary confinement a fifteen year old girl, named Melanie H., reported how she came to the solution of cutting herself by, somehow, acquiring staples and beginning to carve letters and symbols into her forearms in order to show her own personal apology to her family and herself for what she has done, expecting people to understand her cry for help. Another girls said that she would cut herself with staples and show the officers and the staff, but they wouldn’t do anything in order to help her mentally and especially physically. She was denied medical treatment for her self harm outbursts, and she did it only to get attention and for someone to talk to her and understand what was happening. Twelve teenagers reported to the Human Rights Watch about their experience with either trying to take their own life, or witnessing an attempt or a successful act someone taking their own life.

Self harm is an mental health issue that not a lot of people know about. Self harm is “...the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself” (www.mayoclinic.org). It is an issue that people do not like to talk about and especially in schools. Statistics showed that in 2014, 110% of teen girls per 100,000 self-harmed; and it has increased from 23% to 35% that teen boys self-harm (Michelle). Overall, about 15% of Canadian teenagers self harm (Kids Help Phone). Although many teenagers self harm, people do not think about if adults self harm. Statistics showed that in 2006, 54% of adults between the ages of 30 and 64 self harmed (Public Agency Of Canada). Those who self harm may be suicidal, but they do not

In middle school, I thought of self harm every day. Luckily, I knew that self harm was a permanent fix to a temporary problem. I thought of doing self harm to myself because I was a victim of bullying. Having never been bullied before, I didn 't know how to cope with it at first. A group of five girls set out to make my life miserable, because they were jealous of the way I looked. From the start of 6th grade to the middle of 8th grade, there wasn’t a day that went by that I was not picked on. I had been pushed into lockers, tripped, and verbally abused, but I never asked for help. I didn’t think anyone could help. My classmates all saw it happening to me but they never said anything. I believe that they never stepped in, because they didn’t want it to happen to them. I started missing classes to hide out in the bathroom, and I soon started missing days because I would stay home. I missed so much that the school sent home attendance letters voicing their concern with the amount of absences I had.

The purpose of this article is to explore the issues of deliberate self-harm of people who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Those who have BPD will typically engage in self-destructive behaviors, like purposefully harming themselves. Although self-harm is not always an attempt to commit suicide, those who self-harm has a higher chance of committing suicide in the future. Self-harm relates to shame, psychological stress, and anti-social behavior. Adolescents have a higher rate of suffering from self-harm. The average age of those who self-harm are 13 to 14 years old.

Students are expected to pump out A’s, study for hours a night, join a sports team or club and do that for a few hours a day, and work a job to make money, all this after a school day, leaving absolutely no time for freedom. Most teachers - but not all - expect students to come to class and get goods grades when they have no idea what their home life is like. The student could have had a close one die, be abused by their parents, be suicidal, or have alcoholic parents, and are expected to do just as much as everyone else. The number of students that cut themselves is ridiculous. I personally have four friends that self harm, my youth leader self harmed in school, three kids in one class admitted to have self harmed, and a boy in another class has cuts all over his arm. Even in middle school a girl was covered in scars. These are just the ones that I personally have seen and been told - there are probably tons of other students who partake in this. This is what our education system has led us to. Students hurt themselves because they don’t know how else to live. The act of self harm happens when there’s no more room for pain - when the student feels absolutely horrible. Statistics show that one in five females self harm and one in seven males self harm. Teachers need to start caring more about the students they teach and not expect as much from them. Students need free time to express themselves and reduce

Some major mental illnesses adolescent teens suffer are, “Anxiety disorders were the most common condition (31.9%), followed by behavior disorders (19.1%), mood disorders (14.3%), and substance use disorders (11.4%), with approximately 40% of participants with one class of disorder also meeting criteria for another class of lifetime disorder.” (Merikangas n.p.g.). These disorders are long lasting and do not just simply go away without some sort of treatment such as therapy, medication, more hands on attention, and so forth. These kids need someone to talk to and confide in that knows what they are going through and/or knows how to help them cope with their disorder. A mental illness is not something that one chooses, it is a disease that can potentially lead to a form of self-bullying either mentally or physically. Keith Hawton, a professor of psychiatry and a consultant psychiatrist to the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, found that, “398 (6.9%) participants reported an act of deliberate self-harm in the previous year that met study criteria. Only 12.6% of episodes had resulted in presentation to hospital. Deliberate self-harm was more common in females than it was in males (11.2% v 3.2%; odds ratio 3.9, 95% confidence interval 3.1 to 4.9)” (Hawton n.p.g). Mental disorders may affect those closest to us and it may be detrimental, however, there are ways to help relieve the symptoms

Deliberate self-harm is a term that covers a wide range of behaviours some of which are directly related to suicide and some are not. This is a relatively common behaviour that is little understood. This essay provides an overview of the nature and extent of those most at risk of self-harm, including causes and risk factors. Examining some of the stereotyping that surrounds self -harm, and looking at ways in which self-harm can be prevented.

Self-injury is an major issue in our society and schools need to do more to help teens handle mental issue. Self-injury is a complicated and often misunderstood phenomenon that is a growing problem in teenagers and adolescents (plante 1). Self-injury is also an dangerous act that can lead to a worst situation. Self-harm is not necessarily a serious mental illness, but a behavior that indicates a lack of coping skills. There are several illnesses that are associated with it such as: borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, anxiety or posttraumatic distress disorder. In recent years, Self-injury as become more common. Approximately two million cases are reported annually in the United States (Gluck 1). Hospitalizations among youngs for intentional self-harm