(page translated with Google translate)

The term "self-harm" comes from the greek pronoun autos (myself) and from the Latin verb laedo (damage), literally "I hurt myself." So it is a sporadic disorder, but not addictive, in which the affected person obtains injuries and injuries to harm himself. From the medical point of view shows the English term "Repetitive Self-Harm Syndrome" or "Syndrome repeated self-harm", which should not be identified as a mental illness but rather as the hint of a psychological disorder.

HOW IT HAPPENS

The most common act by which manifests self-injury is a shallow cut on the skin but it also includes the burning, inflicted scratching, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and ingesting toxic substances or objects. Self-injury is most common during adolescence or late teens between 12-24 years.

It is generally believed that practicing self-harm means to seek attention but this is incorrect, in fact in many cases, self-harming are aware of their wounds and scars, and this causes a sense of shame and guilt that leads them to do everything possible to hide the marks with 'clothing.

In some cases provoke wounds produces feelings of pleasure relieving psychological pain, in fact it does not test burning in these provoke damage. The self-defeating does not usually to end their lives, but only to find a way to relieve discomfort or emotional pain. Self-injury is a way to communicate their discomfort.

SYMPTOMS

In 70% of cases self-injury occurs with cutting the skin with a sharp object (such as razor blades). Usually the cuts occur on areas of the body that can be easily hidden and not visible from the other.

However, the ways in which it can be made are limited only by the inventiveness of the individual and the real intention and will to harm your body; for this we can also find cases of self-harm that occur with alcohol abuse, drugs, anorexia, bulimia.

Self-injury can be defined in terms of damage to their bodies but would be more correct to define it in terms of purpose to address a problem, emotional anguish.

CAUSES: WHAT DRIVES A PERSON TO BE EVIL?

The answers do not seem to be entirely clear. in fact, you can not, precisely indicate the causes that lead a person to procure on its own damage and physical injuries. In most cases, the phenomenon is complex and it is generally of a multi-factor phenomenon.

Many studies claim that self harm causes are unable to deal with stressful situations, and an inability to understand and express their emotions.

Another cause may lie in a post-traumatic stress. It is a condition in which the affected person suffers from a number of psychological disorders as a result of traumatic experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, for example, to have experienced sexual violence, ill-treatment physical, road accidents or natural disasters. The individual in these cases may feel guilty about what happened and punish himself for some behavior, action or even a thought.

Among the various causes self harm an important reason may be the inability to manage emotions and pain (a symptom of borderline personality): in this case the subject prefers to suffer a strong physical pain rather than having to deal with the emotional aspect and its interiority. Who has a borderline personality tends to avoid the emotions, whether positive or negative, with disastrous effects on interpersonal relationships and the relationship with your being. Also they have recurrent episodes of uncontrolled anger that push the person to focus on his own body. Even unrequited love, with this personality type can push self-harm.

Another reason that can lead an individual to self-injury may be a deep insecurity and lack of self-esteem that can result from a state of deep depression, for which the subject, feels almost invisible and feels that only through pain and scars can prove to himself and to others to exist.

TREATMENT: HOW TO CURE SIB

Clearly, the assumption that self-injury and 'simply a means of communication, a real way of saying to themselves and to others that there is a strong discomfort, it becomes crucial to change the way we communicate. It is precisely within the therapeutic relationship where you can finally be understood and really listened to that little by little we can together find the strength and the courage to begin to express their discomfort unsaid. And it is through psychotherapy that you can find your way to give dignity to the word and buried pain and enhance never called emotional content. so only the ability to inflict physical pain will be gradually replaced by the expressive and verbal skills to get in touch with the emotional pain. A non-linear path but effective.