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Mental Illness: Self-Mutilation – Control Issues in Teens
One of the problems that are becoming more apparent in teenagers is the concept of self-mutilation and self-injury. This is where a teen abuses their body through several different methods. By understanding why a teen decides to do this, they can help them cope and stop the self-mutilation.
Most teens will begin self-mutilation at this age. This will then continue through their twenties and thirties, causing an addictive cycle of hurting themselves. It is known that there is a higher rate of self-mutilation from women than men. There are several reasons behind self-mutilation among teens.
It is known that being a youth is a stressful times for most teens. They are going through several changes emotionally as well as noticing things that have a different level of value in the external environment. If they don’t feel like they are able to control things internally or externally, it can lead to several cries for help, including several different ways of self-mutilation.
Self-mutilation can take on several different forms. The most common form of mutilation is in cutting. This form has also been seen with burning, the second most common way of self-mutilation. Self-hitting, interference with wound healing, hair pulling and bone breaking are other types of self-mutilation that may occur.
There are several psychological reasons why teens may decide to self-mutilate. The first and major reason why teens decide to self-mutilate is from a dislike and invalidation of themselves. By having a low sense of self-esteem and not thinking of themselves highly, they will tend to move towards hurting themselves more. It is known that those who have been through a type of physical or sexual abuse are more likely to self-mutilate.
Another reason why teens may begin to self-mutilate is from a suppression of their feelings. If they have not been taught to express themselves, they will have built up anxiety, anger and other feelings. Because of the age they are at, they have to find a way to express the things and feelings that are suppressed in other events. Sub-consciously, self-mutilation is a way in which they can express their feelings of anger and anxiety.
There are several that use self-mutilation as a way of calming themselves down. When you get hurt, there are endorphins that move into your brain. This then affects a nerve in your brain that allows the pain to not be felt and causes a calming feeling throughout your body. This releases a feeling that is like a high. Because of this, several teens become addicted to the feeling of feeling better after they have caused self injury.
Another reason why self-mutilation is popular among teens is because of the idea of control. This is a response to the before mentioned problems. If teens seem to sense a lack of control in the environment around them, as well as a lack of control from internal feelings, they will use self-mutilation as a way to control something in their environment. If a teen has a sense of feeling out of control with what is happening around them, then resorting to self- mutilation is a subconscious way of them feeling like they are able to control something, even though it is negative.
Another part of this control behavior through self-mutilation is that teens begin to believe that by causing self-mutilation it will allow others to come forward and help them. Because of this, it is important to recognize when a teen is beginning to self-mutilate. As a response, you should not react by condemning them or responding negatively. Instead, you should be patient and get them the proper help in order to treat the problem.
Self-mutilation in teens is a growing problem occurring world wide. Because of the pressures that arise internally and externally, teens are responding by hurting their bodies in some form. It should be kept in mind that self-mutilation is not a path towards suicide, but rather, a way for a teen to want one to recognize that they need help. By finding the control problems that teens are having with self-mutilation, you can help them to overcome this problem and begin to think more positively about their external environment as well as with their emotions.
About the Author
Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of
http://InsaneMind.com
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