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Did you know?
Self-injury is not limited to teens
Did you know?
Self-injury is a dangerous and potentially
life-threatening behavior that also occurs in adults
of both genders. Self-injury is a symptom of a
psychiatric disorder, and is common in persons
suffering from borderline personality disorder or
depression. Menninger is launching a Clinic-wide
initiative to learn more about the behavior and to
develop new protocols to treat it, since it is a
frequent health issue among patients.
Did you know?
While most persons who self-injure are not
attempting suicide, they may accidentally kill
themselves if their behavior goes too far.
Did you know?
What motivates people
to cut, burn or harm themselves may surprise you.
Adults injure themselves for many reasons including:
n
For
attention. Harming themselves may seem like a
way to keep their loved ones concerned and
connected.
n
To
feel alive. Persons who are severely traumatized
by sexual or physical abuse, neglect or a
traumatizing event may detach themselves from their
emotions and injure themselves so that they can
regain feelings.
n
To
distract. Self-injury helps some individuals
distract or release themselves from their emotional
pain, anxiety or depression.
n
Because they feel they must. Some persons who
self-injure have a symptom of mental illness called
psychosis, common in borderline personality disorder
and schizophrenia, which causes them to break from
reality.
Did you know?
Because self-injury is
typically such a deeply ingrained behavior in older
adults with years of the pattern, providing patients
with alternatives is more effective than requiring
they stop their self-injurious behavior outright.
Treatment teams at Menninger work with patients to
discover what triggers them to self-injure and to
work together to develop alternative coping
strategies.
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