Self-mutilation or self-harm is defined as an intentional injury to your own body. Self-injury or teen depression cutting will leave a mark or cause damage of tissues. It involves a wide range of behaviors such as:
Teen cutting
Picking the skin or reopening wounds
Hair pulling
Head banging
Burning or branding using hot objects
Hitting with a hammer or any other object
Bone-breaking
This means that teenage cutting is one type of self-harm. Self-mutilation usually occurs as a physical response to a certain kind of pain. It can also be very addictive. This is why it may be important to focus on how someone feels instead of what they do to themselves. Most people find this to be helpful.
Who is likely to self-harm?
People of either sex or any race can engage in self injury. Cutting and self-mutilation occurs in every age, socioeconomic status, religion or sexual orientation. However, the behavior occurs more commonly in:
Adolescent women
Those suffering from eating disorders in teens, substance abuse or obsessive-compulsive disorder
Individuals raised in families that do not encourage showing of anger
People who lack skills to show their emotions and do not have a reliable social support network
Why teenagers cut themselves
Teenagers cutting self do so when they face overwhelming or distressing situations. They use self-injury to:
Find relieve for anxiety, pressure and intense feelings
Remain real, alive or feel something
Feel outside pain rather than inside pain
Break emotional numbness
Seek help in an indirect way
Manipulate others so that they may care or feel guilty.
Teenagers cutting themselves also do so a sign of their self-hatred. There are those who self-injure as a way of punishing themselves for their strong feelings since they did not have an opportunity to express the emotions as kids. While self-harm may cause injuries that are life threatening, it is not considered as a suicide attempt.
Is there treatment for self-cutting? If your loved one is showing signs of self-cutting, it is important to consult a teen behavioral problem therapist. The mental health practitioner will be able to determine the cause of the problem and come up with the right treatment option. You can get help in teen intervention programs. If you are searching for a self-harm treatment center, you can contact Good Future Teen Rehab at 866 806 9150 or through goodfutureteenrehab.com