New research has revealed that most people who harm themselves do it as a way to deal with their emotional pain, rather than a cry for help.
While people do harm themselves as a way to communicate with, or to influence the behaviour of, others, only about 23% to 33% of people who self-injure say they do this.
Clinical Psychologist Dr Peter Taylor, from The University of Manchester found that between 63% and 78% of non-suicidal people who self-injure do it as a short-term strategy to ease their emotional distress.
However, though self-injuring may work for short periods, the effect can be short lived, and make matters worse in the long term.
Non suicidal self-injury affects around 13%–17% of adolescents and young adults. Studies say it is associated with a range of psychological difficulties including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Though many use it as a way to cope, it is also a risk factor for later suicide.
The study was carried out by researchers from The University of Manchester, University of Liverpool, Leeds Beckett University, and Edith Cowan University in Australia.
c1b4 on December 31st, 2017 at 14:23 UTC »
Everyone says therapy, but what sort of therapy do people suggest? Because no matter what sort of professional I see they always ask me what I want to do and I have no clue
xavec on December 31st, 2017 at 14:15 UTC »
It's worth acknowledging there is a difference between self-injury and self-harm as well. Sometimes it is a coping strategy, sometimes it is punitive and sometimes it is through a lack of other ways to communicate distress to the outside world ("seeking attention"). All are valid. Nice to see more up-to-date psychiatric research being brought out for the public as well.
mvea on December 31st, 2017 at 11:12 UTC »
Journal reference:
A meta-analysis of the prevalence of different functions of non-suicidal self-injury
Peter J. Taylor, Khowla Jomar, Katie Dhingra, Rebecca Forrester, Ujala Shahmalak, Joanne M. Dickson
Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 227, February 2018, Pages 759-769
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.11.073
Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032717315227?via%3Dihub
Highlights
• NSSI can have a wide range of underlying functions for the individual.
• This is the first meta-analysis of the prevalence of the functions of NSSI.
• Intrapersonal functions are more prevalent than interpersonal,
• Functions concerning an escape/avoidance of internal states are particularly common.
• Interpersonal functions are also endorsed by a substantial proportion of people.
Abstract