SELF MUTILATION

‘What is Self Mutilation?

Self-mutilation, or self-injury as many others prefer to call it, is the deliberate damaging of body tissue, Sometimes in a hidden way so that no one else can see.  Self-mutilation can include cutting, burning, bruising or poisoning, but does not usually mean that someone wants to commit suicide. But, if people are not helped to stop self-harming, there is a risk that their urge to hurt themselves could grow into a stronger wish to end their lives. 

Just like with eating disorders, self-injury is used as a coping mechanism in life. Whatever pain is inside of the person, whether it be from family problems, sexual or physical abuse, or emotional neglect, the feelings are unbearable and can only be released or "forgotten about" through the pain that comes from injuring one's self. The prevalence of self-injury is unknown because many cases go unseen and untreated, but it has been estimated that about 750 per 100,000 persons per year have problems with self-injury. (Rates of 34% and 40.5% have been reported for people diagnosed as having multiple personality disorder and bulimia.) 

Self-injury usually begins in late childhood and early adolescence, and although for some it becomes a chronic problem, most self-mutilators do not continue the behavior after 10-15 years. However, self-injury can be a chronic problem if the situation that triggers the victim to cut or hurt themselves continues to stay in their lives.

Cutting is the most common form of self-harm that Childline hears about, but callers also talk about harming their bodies in other ways, such as deliberately bruising themselves, banging their heads against walls, pulling out their hair, burning themselves, falling over, or breaking an arm or leg.

Why do children harm themselves?

• It has been proposed that children who don't receive adequate protection and are abused, violated, or neglected, fail to learn how to protect themselves. They then re-enact their abuse and lack of protection through a variety of self-harming behaviors and this is how self-mutilation can begin. 

• The person who self-injures experiences an inability to tolerate intense feelings and often has trouble expressing emotional needs or experiences, which is where the injury comes in to help "end" or lessen the stress. 

• Injuring one's self can be looked at as a means of communicating anger and distress to other people when there are no other ways.

• For some, seeing the blood from cuts gives them an odd sense of well-being and strength - the same feelings that were stripped away from them at some point in their life. 

• A self-injurer may injure themselves as a way of empowering themselves, as well. The person feels strong and in control by enduring the pain that they inflict on themselves.

• On the flip side, a self-injurer may feel very unworthy and meek, and self-injury can be used as a means of punishment. This frequently is the motive with victims of eating disorders, as in both cases the feelings of unworthiness are there. 

• Another theory is that the victim is constantly told that they are beautiful and that they will attract a lot of boys (girls if it is a male) and the person becomes afraid of being raped (possibly again) or victimized, so they create scars to hopefully scare away anyone who tries to come in contact with them.

How can Childline help?

• Childline counsellors talk to young people about how and when they hurt themselves, to try to find out how they feel before, during and after. This may help to find out why they are self harming or what starts it off, such as bullying, abuse or family tensions.

• Childline helps callers to find ways to stop self-harming – ways that they themselves are able to follow, or else they continue to find it difficult to stop hurting themselves.

• Childline also suggests that callers ring again the next time they feel like self harming. Unlike many other services, Childline is easy to reach and offers comfort, advice and protection 24 hours a day.