Self Mutilation

Self Mutilation

It is estimated that one out of every 50 teens between the ages of 13 and 19 regularly practice self-abusive behavior with a reported 2 million cases in the US alone in 2004.

Self-mutilation is defined as the direct and deliberate destructive alteration of one's own body tissue, without conscious suicidal intent. It is considered a clinical disorder. Self mutilation is not a suicide attempt. It is an attempt for one to gain control over their life and cope with stress, pain, fear, and anxiety. Self mutilatory behaviors are cries for help. Self-abusive teens tend to internalize any conflicts with friends, school or parents as they do not want to "cause trouble" for anyone. Typical self mutilators are middle to upper class, intelligent, women. Self harm usually begins in adolescence and continues for 5to 10 years into the mid twenties. Although self harm more frequently affects females, 11 thousand males are known to suffer from it every year in the United States alone.

There are several types of self-abusive and mutilative behaviors. The most common are cutting and burning. Self harm, however, is not limited to these types. There are also banging, binge eating, biting, branding, breaking of bones, bruising, carving, carving words or symbols into flesh, drinking, hitting, ingesting sharp objects, ingesting toxic substances, marking, picking, piercing, pulling hair, punching walls, scalding, scraping, scratching, scrubbing, self induced vomiting, smoking, starvation, tattooing, and wound interference. Cutting is just as it sounds. The teen will use a razor blade, knife, broken mirror or a piece of glass Ð'- what ever they can Ð'- and "cut" their skin allowing it to bleed openly for several minutes. Burning is the practice of placing cigarettes, hot metal, lighters, or lit matches to the skin and causing a burn. The practice of wound interference is done by creating a wound, whether it is a cut, burn, bruise, or bump, and preventing it from healing by tearing, picking or pushing on the wound. Picking is done when a self-mutilator literally "picks" at their skin until a wound is created and bleeds.

Characteristics of self mutilators include low self esteem, hypersensitivity, and chronic self anger. Many self mutilators are prone to have borderline personality disorder, mood swings, and inconsistent relationships. They often