Myths about People Who Engage Self-harm
By: Blaeke Mitchell
Myths about People Who Engage Self-harm
Self-harm is a largely underrated issue in today's society. Self-harm is the behavior of someone directly injuring or harming oneself by cutting or burning without the attempt of suicide. It is a widely used way that people cope with stress and control over their overwhelming feelings. The averages rates of self-harm are one in four for girls, one in six for boys, and roughly four percent for adults. (Mental Health Foundation). Alarming self- harm rates are signs that society has a mental health crisis. Myths about self-harm are created due to the fact that people who do not engage in self-harm are either uninformed or misinformed on the topic.
One myth that people believe about self-harm is that people only engage in it as a way to cry for help or seek sympathy and attention from others. In reality, most people use it secretly as a way to cope with and control their overwhelming emotional pain. There are many reasons that people engage in self-harm. Some people use it as a way to punish themselves due to their feelings of guilt and worthlessness (“Understanding”). Studies show that self-harm can cause the person to have feelings of euphoria that temporarily relieve emotional pain for a short time. Some people use self-harm as a way to distract or turn their attention to their physical pain rather than their emotional pain in attempt to regain control of their minds. Self-harm is also used as a way to test their body's response to physical pain when they are in a state of numbness. Self-harm is a result of underlying mental or emotional issues (“6 Reasons”).
Another myth that people believe about self-harm is that cutting is the only method used to self-injure. If the meaning of self-harm is the coping with emotional stress through the behavior of one harming oneself, then one could harm themselves in an infinite number of other ways (Mental Health Foundation). A couple of methods of self-injury include burning oneself with cigarettes or hitting oneself. Other methods could include pulling out hair, overdosing on medications, or putting objects in the body with the intent of hurting themselves (“Understanding”).
People who have not been educated on the topic of self-harm might believe the myth that only teenage girls engage in self-injury. Self-harm is used by every age, ethnicity, and income class. Symptoms that lead to self-harm include mental illness, self-criticism, abuse, and lack of ways to cope with unbearable emotions. Some behavioral signs might include low moods, low motivation, keeping secrets, sleeping to much, and social isolation. Any person with these symptoms or signs is susceptible to self-harm (“Understanding”).
The myth that people who use self-harm can instantly stop self-injuring at any time without undergoing a process of recovery is false (Burgess). Breaking a habit or pattern associated with a reward is extremely difficult to do. One reward of self-harm is the feeling of relief about their negative emotions. First, the person who engages in self-harm has to be willing to take steps in order to recover. Once they do, the number one key to recovery is to find support through therapy (Colino). Philip Mitchell, Psychotherapist for HopeQuest Ministry Group, shared that recovery from any addiction is a process. He said that every individual has different steps in their recovery journey. He shared that the first steps in recovery for self-harm might include investigating the underlying causes and identifying triggers in their life. In more extreme cases, the patient might have to step out of a bad situation in order to begin recovery. Mitchell said, “Therapy sessions might include investigating the patient’s family dynamics and identifying their past emotional traumas.” Patients might learn to understand that the feeling of euphoria from self-harm has short-term effects, and it does not fix their long-term underlying emotional problems. The therapists help their patients identify their specific triggers for self-harm and teach them how to use long-term coping skills to replace the detrimental behavior. In his final points, he said that the only way to fully recover from an addictive behavior is to learn strong coping skills and to be willingly engaged with an emotional support team. Recovery is a long process (Mitchell).
In special cases, some of the myths might be true, but a large majority of cases regarding to self-harm challenge these myths.Myths about self-harm are created due to the fact that people who do not engage in self-harm are either uninformed or misinformed on the topic.A few people might use self-harm to receive attention, butmost people use it secretly as a way to cope with and control their emotional pain. The myth that cutting is the only method used to self-injure is false, because there are many ways to self-injure. The last myth that tells that people who use self-harm can instantly stop self-injuring at any time without undergoing a recovery process is false. Recovery is long-term process with many obstacles and steps for each individual. We can take some steps to help eliminate self-harm on our campus. We can attempt to pull people away from bad situations. We can provide emotional support and motivate people to attend counseling. We can make sure that everyone feels included and cared for. Lastly, we can help people realize their true worth and purpose in life.
Works Cited
Burgess, Lana. “How to Stop Yourself or Someone Else from Cutting.” Medical News Today,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324515.php. Accessed 7 September 2019.
Colino, Stacey. “6 Things You Didn’t Know About Self-Injury.” U.S. News, 3 January 2018.
health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2018-01-31/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-self-injury. Accessed 7 September 2019.
Mental Health Foundation. “The Truth about Self-harm.” Mental Health, 2019.
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/truth-about-self-harmAccessed 7 September 2019.
American Addiction Centers. “6 Reasons Why People Self-Injure.” Mental Help,
2019.www.mentalhelp.net/suicide/6-reasons-why-people-self-injure/. Accessed 7 September 2019.
Mitchell, Philip. Personal Interview. NHS, 9 Sept. 2019.
“Overview Self-harm.” 2019. www.nhs.uk/conditions/self-harm/. Accessed 7 September 2019.
“Understanding Self Injury-Self Harm.” Teen Mental Health, 2019.
www.teenmentalhealth.org/understanding-self-injury-self-harm. Accessed 7 September 2019.
