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| Treating Self-Harm Addiction What is Self-Harm Addiction and How is it Treated? Self-harm addiction, also known as self-mutilation, usually refers to the act of cutting and burning oneself and is an addiction that is widely misunderstood. Many often believe that a self-harmer is attempting to commit suicide due to the serious nature of the wounds and cuts inflicted. When a person is a self-harmer, they engage in obsessive and compulsive behaviours involving inflicting physical damage to their bodies in a quest to avoid feelings with which they are unable to cope or do not know how to process. Others may see a self-mutilator as an attention seeker which is simply not true. What is self-harming? Self-harming can include cutting, burning with cigarette lighters, cigarettes and other hot implements, and general acts of bodily harm such as hitting one's head against a wall repeatedly. The self-mutilation can be so severe that the sufferer may need medical treatment and hospitalisation. The results leave permanent scars on the body, which the sufferer may be proud of when immersed in their addiction, yet will also cause deep shame of their behaviour resulting in their hiding the evidence from others. Who suffers from it? Many people suffer from the addiction concerned with self-harm. The condition does not discriminate race, gender, culture or creed although young women seem to suffer most commonly from these addictive behaviours. Self-harm is often accompanied by other addictive tendencies, especially eating disorders and drug addiction, but anyone can suffer from the problem. Self-harm is a disease - just like drug addiction and alcoholism, the sufferer has an incurable and progressive disease which can be arrested and managed through therapy and treatment. The act of harming one's body is not really the problem when self-mutilation is involved. Whilst the behaviour is the addiction, the problem lies in the person: their behaviour is a symptom of the disease. If a person is addicted to the obsessive and compulsive behaviours related to self-harming, the person is generally secretive about their behaviour. Fear of being stopped or confronted results in the hiding of their actions. Many sufferers report their behaviour involving self-harm as 'ritualistic', just as with drug addicts and alcoholics. For example, a person who uses razors to cut themselves may have a strict routine that they follow, which could include getting a special and 'safe place' ready for their self-harm to be carried out in 'peace' without disturbance. The implements used, the method of harming and the aftermath may follow a very similar pattern each time. The location of self-harm infliction on their bodies may be in one place, such as the arms, thighs, stomach and sometimes even the face. |
