Self Harm - Is it normal ?

EM13636

Self harm/self inflicted cuts/self mutilations can be considered as a DELIBERATE CONSCIOUS CHOICE OF A COURSE OF ACTION ; hence the person is considered as not showing any sign of mental illness. Is this argument plausible/acceptable ? And can it be applied to numerous atempted suicides ?

John

Sounds like an exam question...

JuliusCaesar

Tattoos, piercings......self-mutilation or self-beautification? And where is the dividing line between mental illness and individual quirkes and eccentricities?

ST*

EM13636 wrote:

Self harm/self inflicted cuts/self mutilations can be considered as a DELIBERATE CONSCIOUS CHOICE OF A COURSE OF ACTION ; hence the person is considered as not showing any sign of mental illness. Is this argument plausible/acceptable ? And can it be applied to numerous atempted suicides ?

It is not perceived as 'normal' behaviour. And while on the face it appears to be a deliberate course of action, you must consider the state of mind of the sufferer. Self-harmers believe they get 'relief' from pain / fear / anxiety in their lives by harming themselves.

Zillah

"Normal" is a very foolish word to use in terms of psychology. Is it "common"? Yes, amongst teenagers its quite common.

Is it healthy? Not really, neither physically or mentally. Physically it leaves scars and could cause infections. Mentally, it becomes an artificial coping mechanism. The ability to cause something so drastic as bleeding/pain in yourself gives the illusion of control. There is a measurable stress reduction in people who use it in the regard.

So to address the key issue, in the cases where people using it for stress relief then its not "normal/healthy", but if someone decides for aesthetic reasons that they would like a pretty scar/decoration on a particular part of their body, then it could be quite "normal/healthy". (Note that these two types won't neccessarily be mutually exclusive, and the first type might claim to be the second type if confronted.)

Of course then there's the issue of people using tatoos/piercings/scarings as artificial attempts at expression or as an attempt at creating a self image. Many people regret such drastics measures in the end, but thats a different kettle of fish.

(And no im not a psychologist, these are just my thoughts. And you should really do your own college work...)

ST*

wrote:

"Normal" is a very foolish word to use in terms of psychology.

It is used quite often actually. But when used, psychologists are referring to what would be considered the 'social norm', what would be considered normal in society - is it common? etc.

Briony Noh

Self harm is surely contrary to the survival instinct. Let me be the next person to admit he isn't a psychologist and to offer a range of unfounded views that seem to him to make sense, but are probably wrong in a cosmic sense:

Self-harmers thrive on the instant adreneline rush. Often, when seriously upset, it gives them back a sense of humanity and of individuality. The self-inflicted pain and the scar that results are badges they wear to remind them of their anger at being upset, not of being upset itself. In no way does self-harming signal mental imbalance, but in certain individuals a direct link can be drawn from it to other psychological scars. In these cases, self-harm is the consequence of victimisation and occasionally of abuse. In their own minds, they have chosen theis solution. In reality, the original cause is more often the catalyst. The abused child, for example, may turn to self-harm, but isn't it the original abuser who has done the original damage?

Therefore, within the parameters of the self-harmer's understanding, they may make a conscious and informed decision - it is almost never an accident or other spontaneous reaction - but in the broader parameters of their past experiences, the decision has actually been forced on them by trauma or influences which have resulted in long-term psychological damage, and it is this damage that now requires professional treatment.

Eoghan-psych

JuliusCaesar wrote:

Tattoos, piercings......self-mutilation or self-beautification? And where is the dividing line between mental illness and individual quirkes and eccentricities?

From a behaviour analytic point of view [others here will no doubt take a similar stance but will use different terminology], one is interested in the *function* of a particular behaviour more so than its *form*.

This is where the difference between, say, a tattoo and cutting becomes apparent. The *function* of the tattoo is changing appearance, or commemorating something, so on and so forth [one may well think there are better ways to do these things, but those are the functions of tattooing for the tattooee]. Self harm on the other hand doesn't serve any purpose nearly so healthy - in a nutshell, happy people don't cut/burn/insertasappropriate themselves.

One must of course distinguish between 'real' self harm and 'fake' self harm. There is, unfortunately, a culture developing with young people around self harm being seen as somehow 'cool', or appropriate. There's definitely several PhDs worth of research in finding out to what extent this is a problem, but I don't think it a stretch to say that quite a few people will 'try out' self harm. I don't have, or know of, any figures on that but since my PhD has collapsed in the past few weeks [supervisor issues, among other problems] it's something I'll have time and inclination to look into [basis language research just doesn't hold the same draw any more :-)].

LilMrsDahamsta

Eoghan-psych wrote:

.... I don't have, or know of, any figures on that ....

The National Suicide Research Foundation operate the National Parasuicide Registry. Their 2004 Annual Report has the most up to date information that's been published AFAIK.

Freedomfighter

In my experience the person who is cutting themselves is feeling some sort of emotional pain. And with the direct pain of a cut it seems to be temperarily stopped. This starts out with small cuts and if unnoticed and untreated become more severe as the relief gets shorter. Again in my experience it usually stems from bad life experiences. What one may deem as terrible another may not notice.
No i would not consider it normal, although i see it more and more each day in young people.

DOLEMAN

If you were perfectly happy with your life would you cut yourself? Probably not.

Are most people perfectly happy? No.

So maybe it's fairly normal, but it's a sign of unhappiness.

sunnyjim

Hey all. The names Ciaran, I'm new to the board.

I think its down to a case of "why" rather than how they harm themselves. Do people harm themselves as punishment, such is the case in some religions where self-inflicted harm is seen as a cleanser, a process of forgiveness. Would that make them insane?

Or is it all because the person is trying to prove something to themself? Do they think that putting themselves through this will make them a stronger person? That would explain why it is seen in those with low self esteem, especially those who are bullied - they are proving to themself that they really are a strong person.

To stick with the second point, maybe doing weights could be seen as a form of self punishment. Maybe someone does alot of weightlifting has a (sub)/concious thought that it will make them a stronger person all round? Would that be the mark of someone who is insane?

JuliusCaesar

Hi Sunnyjim,could you define Insanity? Is it an either/or concept, or is it a continuum? (Insanity is not a term I use - unless I'm talking about the plans politicians have, when I'm in the pub!)

Gibs

Freedomfighter wrote:

In my experience the person who is cutting themselves is feeling some sort of emotional pain. And with the direct pain of a cut it seems to be temperarily stopped. This starts out with small cuts and if unnoticed and untreated become more severe as the relief gets shorter. Again in my experience it usually stems from bad life experiences. What one may deem as terrible another may not notice.
No i would not consider it normal, although i see it more and more each day in young people.

I would have to respectfully disagree with this. The research suggests that people who cut themselves are doing so usually because they are not feeling the usual range of emotions. This often happens to people who have gone through a trauma or a series of difficult/abusive experiences. They are unable to cope with the enormity of what is happening or has happened to them and they shut down emotionally. What appears to be occuring is that the cutting provides instant and direct access to one's affective states and allows some emotional response. The reason people do it more and more may be because as one becomes accustomed to the cause (the cutting) one gets more innured to the effect (the emotional response).

Obviously this is a huge simplification and there are a lot of other reasons for engaging in self-harm, but many people who do cut themselves (as aside from harming themselves due to suicidal ideation or depressive states) seem to find the above a reasonable explanation for what they do, or will even describe it in these terms.

Zillah

sunnyjim wrote:

Hey all. The names Ciaran, I'm new to the board.

I think its down to a case of "why" rather than how they harm themselves. Do people harm themselves as punishment, such is the case in some religions where self-inflicted harm is seen as a cleanser, a process of forgiveness. Would that make them insane?

Or is it all because the person is trying to prove something to themself? Do they think that putting themselves through this will make them a stronger person? That would explain why it is seen in those with low self esteem, especially those who are bullied - they are proving to themself that they really are a strong person.

To stick with the second point, maybe doing weights could be seen as a form of self punishment. Maybe someone does alot of weightlifting has a (sub)/concious thought that it will make them a stronger person all round? Would that be the mark of someone who is insane?

Sorry but that sounds completely made up and over simplified. Do you actually have any experience with this?