What Factors Influence Self-Injurious Behavior?

What Factors Influence Self-Injurious Behavior?

An act that causes deliberate body tissue harming is known as self-injury which has different perspectives in the community depending on the various groups and cultures. These acts are common in youths, especially those in their adolescent ages. The task of diagnosing self-injurious behaviors among youths is complex especially due to the wide range of risk/trigger factors including but not limited to drug abuse, social and peer pressure, as well as financial dependence (Psych2Go, 2018).

Self-harm is not a new case; lots of people have heard, in some point, about someone that has committed it. Additionally, various people assume that only females engage in self-harm, but this is not true; men also engage in it. Various causes that may explain why youth engage in self-injurious behaviors are as follows. One of the causes is a cry for help. When emotionally distressed, various individuals may lack a shoulder to lean on, hence harm themselves as a way of crying for some help. Additionally, many youths may engage in self-injurious activities to punish themselves (National Health Service, 2021). Many teenagers engage in various behaviors such as unprotected sex and drug abuse that leave them regretting. When such regrets come their way, they relieve the emotion through self-harming. Such youths do these injurious actions to punish themselves. And finally, various youths may engage in self-injurious behaviors to relieve unbearable tension. When some people have tensions, they may engage in self-harm as a way of relief.

Self-harming reasons are categorized into three categories: biological, social, and psychological (TEDx Talks, 2016). In reducing psychological pain, alleviating and expressing psychological distresses, and refocusing the victim’s attention from the negative stimulus, psychological functions are cited more than the others. Difficulty in emotion regulation, depression, peers, unresolved attachment, anxiety, anger management, psychotic, and even eating disorders are among the fundamental causes of psychological non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (Psych2Go, 2018). In youths facing the regulation of emotions and self-injuring behaviors and thoughts, interpersonal functions, attachments, and depression can act as new avenues of research and clinical researches that will help in uncovering NSSI issues among the youths. The studies show that there may be an underlying vulnerability to mental problems like anxiety and depression due to genetic influences (Psych2Go, 2018).

Social support is a critical aspect of the youths during adolescence (TEdx Talks, 2016). As stressors and interpersonal demands increase, they might not use adaptive skills for emotional regulation in times of stress, thus risking NSSI if they perceive less support and care from the friends and family. Some of the most recent studies on social causes of NSSI among the youths have determined that youths with less family, teacher, and friends support end up engaging in NSSI acts. There is a drive of NSSI and suicidal ideation among the youths by overlapping genetic factors, and this is an indication of NSSI, and suicidal ideation has got the same foundations (TEdx Talks, 2016).

Amongst all the above causes of self-injurious behaviors, the one that interests me is when individuals engage in self-harm as a way of punishing themselves. It is sad to understand various individuals engage in self-harm because they want to punish themselves. When they engage in regretful activities such as taking drugs, or unprotected sex, they punish themselves by causing self-harm. I believe that almost every teenager in one instance or the other makes a wrong choice. However, it is not good to cause injury to engage in injurious activities because self-harm does not reduce the emotional distress but rather causes more troubles. Such youths should be aware that almost everyone makes mistakes, and mistakes cannot be fixed through self-punishments. Therefore, awareness needs to be enhanced to help youths cope with their regretful actions or emotional distress.

Research says a lot of things about the etiology or the causative factors for these injurious behaviors. One of the things is that self-harm is simply a mechanism for coping with emotional distress (Ireland, 2019). Research done shows that individuals engage in self-harm to express feelings, deal with the unreality or numbness feelings, stop flashbacks, and relieve tension. When people engage in injurious behaviors, they experience some relief (Carvalhal, 2018). The other causative factor for the injurious behaviors is to communicate or document pain. Sometimes, individuals that engage in self-harm are not good at communicating their problems. Therefore, in cases where words are not available to express what they want, they show it physically.

Lastly, various evidence-based treatment modalities that have been recognized to manage these self-harm behaviors are as follows. The first method is offering better coping mechanisms; research shows that forced stopping of the self-injury is not a recommendable strategy. It may make the doctor or the involved friends feel better but may not help the victim. Therefore, rather than engaging in forced stopping, close friends and allies can offer non-judgmental support (Aggarwal & Patton, 2018). In this way, the individual feels supported and can stop self-harm behaviors. The other modality is encouraging individuals to communicate. Rather than engaging in self-harming behaviors, individuals can be encouraged to speak out their problems to a therapist or related specialist. In this way, they can be taught how to cope with emotional distress. Finally, it is recommendable for individuals to distract themselves by engaging in various activities such as physical exercises whenever they are emotionally distressed.

References

Aggarwal, S., & Patton, G. (2018). Engaging families in the management of adolescent self-harm. Evidence-based mental health, 21(1), 16-22.

NHS. (2021, February 4). Where to get help for self-harm. nhs.uk. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/self-harm/getting-help/

Psych2Go. (2018). 5 Not Obvious Signs of Self Harm [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JjYINIU9hQ

TEdx Talks. (2016). Self Harm: What Is it About? | Marta Carvalhal | TEDxGreenville [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQOTP30ve8

Carvalhal, M. (2018). Self-Harm: What is it About? | Marta Carvalhal | TEDxGreenville. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQOTP30ve8&feature=youtu.be.