Tuesday, March 1, was National Self-Injury Awareness Day - a day to bring awareness to a secret problem and help to those who need it.
Self-injury, sometimes called self-harm, is any deliberate action that inflicts physical injury to your body. As Russ Federman, Ph.D., director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Virginia, explains, "In the midst of emotional turmoil, physical pain helps people disconnect from intense emotional turmoil." But the effects last only hours.
As a self-harmer explains, "When I self-harm it takes away the pain in my head and puts it somewhere else. I just feel at peace when I do it. I escape from the world; I’m just by myself and I like that."
Self-injury is often thought of as cutting, but can also take the form of burning, pulling hair out in clumps, breaking bones, scratching, bruising or drinking something harmful like bleach.
How big of a problem is this? Approximately two million cases are reported annually in the U.S., but truly accurate rates of self-harm are difficult to come by because it’s a well-kept secret. There is broad consensus among researchers, and those who work directly with young people, that the phenomenon is increasingly popular.
Many of those who self-injure report learning how to do so from friends or pro self-injury websites. While researching this topic, I was shocked to find multiple YouTube videos such as, "How to hide your self-harm scars from your parents," and "How to hide self-harm scars with make-up." The latter video has almost one million views.
Self-harm myths
Myths about self-harming from the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury:
■ Self-harming is attention-seeking. Stripping naked and running down the street would be attention-seeking, but self-harming is very private and personal. People who self-harm often go to great lengths to cover up their injuries.
■ People who self-harm are suicidal. People who self-harm are not usually trying to kill themselves. For many it’s a coping mechanism used to survive – not die. Just because you self-harm doesn’t mean you are suffering from a severe mental illness, either.
■ It’s only a teenage thing – you will grow out of it. While it is true that the majority of those who self-injure do so during their adolescent years, people of all ages practice self-injury.
■ People who self-harm could stop if they wanted to. Self-harming can become a habitual or addictive behavior. Telling somebody to "just stop it" will not work and could possibly alienate them further. There is emerging evidence that self-injury releases endorphins in the brain, a process which increases the possibility of becoming addicted to self-injury.
■ People who have self-harmed have been abused. Some people who self-injure have been abused, but certainly not all. Reasons for self-injuring are varied and unique to the individual.
■ Anyone who self-injures is part of the "Gothic" or "Emo" subgroup. Self-injury excludes no one. People who self-injure come from all types of groups, ethnicities and economic backgrounds.
■ People who self-injure are manipulative. Self-injury is more about relieving tension and distress than it is about manipulating others.
How to help
How to help someone who is self-harming:
■ Remain calm and caring. Listen with compassion. Avoid panic and overreaction. Do not show shock or revulsion at what they’ve done. Do not use threats in an attempt to stop the behavior. Do not allow them to recount the self-injury experience in detail as it may trigger another session. Do get appropriate help form a qualified mental health profession.
Resources
■ Hot Line: 1-800-DONT -CUT
■ Minnesota Mental Health www.mnmentalhealth.org
■ www.selfinjuryfoundation.org
Don’t ignore the problem and hope it will go away. When self-harmers can find someone to talk to that won’t freak-out on them, it is a first step on a journey to recovery. That person may be you.
For more information, visit the WoW van. The Wellness on Wheels van was scheduled to be at the Marketplace in Annandale from 2 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22.
Jane Kvalheim is a nurse with Wright County Public Health. Go to www.co.wright.mn.us for more information or call 763-682-7717.