Teen Mental Health CrisisTeen Mental Health Crisis: Why Kids Cut Themselves?

When she discovered her 15-year-old daughter was cutting herself, it was a total shock. After she discovered how common this type of behavior was, she decided to write about it. An anonymous mother tells how she discovered that self-harming behavior is a secret epidemic among our young. “They’ll grow out of it,” another mother tells her, as if the problem will just go away somehow if no one speaks about this unsettling issue. But parents and teens did come forward and help this concerned mother tell their heartbreaking stories. The article, published in the UK’s Guardian, asks the question, if your child does this, how do you help them move forward to recovery and Discovery Mood and Anxiety ?

Just as Cinderella’s sisters in the original, horrific version of the famous fairy tale, cut their feet to get them into a tiny shoe, girls and women have always turned their anger and fear on themselves, the unknown mom writes. Like the stepsisters, some may even do it to fit into a social group. She discovered her daughter’s self-harming behavior by accident.

When a wound to her daughter’s foot became seriously infected, the mother was not prepared for what she saw when her daughter was admitted to a hospital: “When the nurses undressed her, she struggled to conceal her forearms,” the mother writes. “When I saw the ladder of fine scars, some old and some very recent, on her perfect young skin, I almost fainted with horror. I had had absolutely no idea what was going on.”

In Harm’s Way

There’s no easy way to confront the subject. No caring parent wants to see their child suffer. There are only few activities that would be more unsettling. When mothers and fathers find out their kids are deliberately hurting themselves, many feel almost as overwhelmed as their distressed teens. Unfortunately, it’s actually very common, usually among girls. The experts call it “self injury,” and as many as one out of every four adolescents and teens may do it.

The Cutting Edge

According to the Child Mind Institute, the most common form of self-injury is cutting or scratching the skin with something sharp enough to cause bleeding, such as razor blades or metal household items such as paperclips or pen caps. Some kids self-injure by burning themselves or picking at their skin. They may have mysterious wounds that never heal. Some even hit themselves.

The Numbers

The institute’s self injury statistics show that this disturbing phenomenon is a real danger for teens all over the world, primarily in developed countries, such as the U.S. and in Western Europe. Frequently, other untreated mental health disorders, like depression, anorexia, and other disorders can contribute to the feelings of despair that fuel self-harming behaviors. These conditions can lead young people to cope with life’s challenges in unhealthy ways. Consider these frightening statistics:

  • Each year, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self injury
  • 90 percent of people who engage in self harm begin during their teen or pre-adolescent years
  • Nearly 50 percent of those who engage in self injury activities have been sexually abused
  • 60 percent of those who engage in self injurious behavior are female
  • 50 percent of those who engage in self mutilation begin around age 14
  • Many self injurers learned how to do it from friends
  • Nearly two million cases are reported annually in the U.S.

While these self-harm statistics are from reliable sources, exact information about self-mutilation is difficult to measure or compare because so many teens hide the activity. Their secret behavior may never come to the attention of medical professionals.

What You Should Know

Knowing the facts about self-injury can help. It’s also a good idea to try to familiarize yourself with some of the underlying origins of this behavior and the techniques self-harmers use. The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, typically lists self-inflicted injuries as a symptom of borderline personality disorder, but recent research indicates that it also occurs with other mental health disorders, including:

The Methods

The phenomenon has become more visible in society in recent years, the Child Mind Institute says. Popular celebrities like Angelina Jolie have revealed that they engaged in self-harming behaviors when they were young. Recent statistics on self-injury statistics list the following behaviors as common among people who engage in self-harm:

  • Cutting
  • Burning
  • Interfering with the healing of wounds
  • Punching or hitting themselves
  • Inserting objects into the skin
  • Purposely bruising or breaking bones
  • Hair pulling

What You Can Do to Help with a Teen Mental Health Crisis

Know the facts. There are many myths about self-mutilation, that’s why it’s important to know as much as you can when you are responding to young people that engage in this type of behavior. People usually self injure to in order to manage overwhelming emotions They often want to end painful thoughts, or relieve emotional numbness, or punish themselves. Through the act of hurting themselves, some young people even experience a sense of belonging, especially in group situations. Or they get special attention. There may be many reasons, that are unique to your teen.

How to Talk to Your Teen

The Child Mind Institute offers these guidelines for confronting someone that engages in self-injury:

  • Remain calm and caring
  • Accept him or her even if you disagree with their behavior
  • Know that this represents a way of dealing with emotional pain
  • 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 -it may trigger another attempt
  • Get appropriate help immediately from qualified mental health professionals

What Puts Someone at Risk for Cutting?

  • Low self-esteem
  • Having had ADHD as child, even if she no longer shows symptoms of it
  • Having another condition such as anxiety, depression, an eating disorder or bipolar disorder
  • Being sexually or physically abused
  • Feeling rejected and lonely
  • Feeling unsafe at school or at home
  • A tendency toward perfectionism
  • Frequent conflicts with friends and family
  • A tendency to be impulsive
  • A tendency to take risks

Clues

If you suspect that your daughter may be hurting herself, the Child Mind Institute suggests looking for these telltale signs:

  • Talking about self-injury
  • Suspicious-looking scars
  • Wounds that don’t heal or get worse
  • Cuts on the same place
  • Increased isolation
  • Collecting sharp tools such as shards of glass, safety pins, nail scissors, etc.
  • Wearing long-sleeved shirts in warm weather
  • Avoiding social activities
  • Wearing a lot of adhesive bandages
  • Refusing to go into the locker room or change clothes in school

The Triggers in Teen Mental Health Crisis

The urge to self-harm is usually triggered by an event in a young person’s life. The most common “trigger” for cutting is feeling rejected, the experts say. It might be the loss of a boyfriend, close friends, or a general feeling of being isolated.

Other common triggers may include:

  • Anger
  • Depression
  • Fear
  • Numbness
  • Irritability
  • Loneliness
  • Upsetting memories
  • Difficulties with friends or family

Does Cutting Lead to Suicide?

While self-injury might appear to be a suicidal behavior, but most of the time, the injuries aren’t fatal. Most people that self-injure don’t really want to end their lives, they are attempting to manage emotional pain. But the suffering that drives someone to self-harm could ultimately lead to a suicide attempt. So it should be taken very seriously.

Breaking the Cycle of Self-Harrm is not Easy

Getting effective treatment for self-harming behavior disorders early could help your teenager recover sooner, and it could also prevent future episodes. Research shows that mental health intervention, a safe, positive environment, and coping skills can help adolescents and teens develop effective tactics for Discovery Mood and Anxiety . The goal of Discovery Mood and Anxiety is recovery.

Recovery is Possible

If your teen is engaging in self-harming behavior, call Discovery Mood right away. We provide effective multi-faceted levels of care for adolescents and teens that are struggling with a wide range of behavior disorders, including self-harming behaviors, bipolar disorders, borderline personality disorders, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and other major mental health issues.

Call Us Now at 800.760.3934

Don’t let your child suffer in silence. Discovery Mood can help. Our personalized behavior modification programs are tailored to fit your needs. We have been helping families find their way to recovery for more than 18 years. Call now and speak with one of our highly trained admission specialists today. Be proactive by taking our FREE Teen Mental Health Evaluation. And remember all calls are completely FREE and strictly confidential.

 

Sources

The Telegraph: Self-harm- Why would she cut herself?. Retrieved September 30, 2016.

Child Mind Institute: My daughter has started cutting. What should I do?  Retrieved September 30, 2016.

The Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery. Retrieved September 30, 2016.

Healthyplace.com: Self-Injury, Self-Harm Statistics and Facts, by Samantha Gluck. Retrieved September 30, 2016.