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Why Do People Engage in Self-Inflicted
Violence?
People engage in self-inflicted violence for many reasons. These are the most
commonly cited reasons, as stated by Dr. Alderman in her book The Scarred
Soul: Understanding & Ending Self-Inflicted Violence (New Harbinger
Press, Oakland, CA 1997).
Click
here for more Resources and Links on the subject of Self-Injury.
(Taken from The Prevention Researcher, Volume 7, No. 4
November 2000, page 11; Website: www.TPRonline.org)
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Relief From Feelings |
| One of the most common reasons for
self-injuring is to get relief from intense emotions. Many people who
self-injure are not able to regulate or control their emotions well.
They may find it difficult to identify, express, or release their
emotions. They may never have developed the ability to feel and
experience emotions as others do, such as crying, yelling, or screaming.
People who engage in self-injury commonly report that before the
incident they felt isolated, alienated, depressed, and frustrated. |
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A Method of Coping |
| Many people use negative coping techniques
to feel better. These include using alcohol or other drugs, violent
behavior toward others, overeating, smoking, gambling, and self-inflicted
violence. |
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Stopping, Inducing, or
Preventing Dissociation |
| Dissociation is a psychological state in
which a person experiences an alteration in consciousness, memory, and
sometimes, identity. Everyone dissociates to some extent, however, for
most people it is fairly mild, such as tuning out someone who is talking
to you. Some people use dissociation as a defense mechanism to protect
themselves from overwhelming emotional or physical pain. But these
dissociative states themselves can become overwhelming. Self-inflicted
violence is one method to reduce, prevent, or end a disturbing
dissociative state. |
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Euphoric Feelings |
| When a person experiences physical trauma,
their body releases endorphins which have effects similar to morphine.
During a self-injuring episode, endorphins are released so the
self-injurer does not feel the pain associated with the self-injury. Like
morphine, these endorphins can become addictive. |
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Physically Expressing Pain |
| Many people who self-injure have difficulty
expressing emotional pain. At a time when people can’t adequately
express their emotions, they may turn to self-inflicted violence as a
method of expression. The results of this violence (the cuts, bruises,
burns), serve as an expression of the internal conflict. Physically
expressing emotional pain allows a person to have concrete evidence of
intangible or indefinable emotions. |
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Communication |
| Sometimes self-inflicted violence is used as
a form of communication. People who have difficulty expressing their
feelings to others verbally, may use self-injury to let those around them
know what they are experiencing. Sometimes the violence may be used to
carry a symbolic message. For instance, creating scars or wounds to mark a
certain occasion. |
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Self-Nurturing |
| Some people use self-inflicted violence as
an attempt to make internal wounds external and to nurture and heal these
wounds. Once the emotional pain or trauma is made external through
self-injury, it is easier to nurture and heal than when it existed only on
the emotional level. They gratifying part of self-injury then becomes the
self-care which a person can provide afterwards. |
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Self-Punishment |
| Research shows that many of the people who
self-injure were abused as children. As children, they may have been
taught that certain behavior, thoughts, or feelings deserved punishment.
This lesson follows them into adulthood and may influence the way they
treat themselves. Additionally, self-injurers are often over critical of
themselves. This internal criticism facilitates their acts of self-injury. |
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Re-Enacting Previous Abuse |
| The reasons a self-injurer may re-enact
abuse are varied. Some may replicate the abuse so they can feel a sense of
control. Some may re-enact the abuse as part of post-traumatic stress
during a flashback. Some self-injurers may not know why they act out the
abuse, but simply feel the need to do so. |
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Establishing Control |
| Like everyone, when a self-injurer’s
feelings of control are lessened, their emotional and physical discomfort
is increased. During these times, self-inflicted violence may be used to
decrease the tension and ease psychological or physical discomfort by
allowing the person a sense of control. |
Click
here for more Resources and Links on the subject of Self-Injury.
|
Family
Institute, P.C.