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Hello, and welcome to Insider’s Health TV. Where we bring you the freshest happenings
in the world of medicine without the quack propaganda. Today we’ll be talking about
an issue that is not often brought to light… self-injury.
Self-injury can take many forms, but it basically boils down to a deliberate, non-suicidal destruction
of one’s self. Within that classification there is cutting, branding, biting, and hair-pulling,
among other methods. And for the last ten years, ethnographers Patricia and Peter Adler
have dedicated their research to finding out more of this often well-hid condition.
Self-injury, also termed self-harm and self-mutilation, rose from relative obscurity in the 90’s,
and spread dramatically as a typical behavior for some adolescents. Even though it was considered
a suicidal gesture for a long time, it is slowly being recognized today as more of a
short-term solution to anxiety, depression, or rapidly fluctuating emotions. It is especially
prevalent in teens that feel alone.
But what caused this once-rare condition to spread so quickly? A few reasons. First, people
heard that self-harm was making people feel better about their situation. As soon as the
media started running stories, troubled kids were quick to give it a try. Pretty soon it
had become its own subculture, with wannabes and copycats joining along to fit in to an
emerging group. And it’s been hard to curb the use of self-injury because of the secret
nature of the affliction.
After all; self-injury isn’t illegal, it isn’t addictive, and it gives some people
an emotional out from their situations. It is probably better for a person than turning
to drugs and alcohol, and it is usually grown out of by adulthood.
But even if it isn’t the most dangerous way of dealing with stress, the important
thing to realize is that there are more healthy outs. If you need to escape from pain enough
to hurt yourself, you should try talking with someone. Therapy, or even a good listener,
might be able to help you deal with the emotional weight of the world.
And while it’s important to recognize that you aren’t crazy, weak-willed, or sick for
using self-injury… you’re also clearly not in a healthy situation.
That’s it for this edition of Insider’s Health TV. I’m your host, Kimberly Walleston.
And remember: it’s your health. We’re just helping you think outside the docs.