Self-harm - we call it self-harm as well as constantly directing various accusations towards you. In the case of this problem, the most important thing is that the patient directs aggression towards himself - why do people - children, teenagers, adults harm themselves? Read why self-harming behavior cannot be underestimated and learn about the causes and effects of self-harm.
Autoaggressionoccurs when the aggressor shows aggression … towards himself, causing mental or physical harm. There are several types of self-harm, which are:
- direct self-harm : the patient causes physical damage to his body or psychological damage (in the first case, e.g. by self-mutilation, in the second, e.g. by constantly lowering his own value) ;
- indirect self-aggression : it is said about it when the patient deliberately directs other people to aggression towards him and then succumbs to it;
- verbal autoaggression : in its course, patients tend to blame themselves or to blame themselves constantly for various reasons;
- non-verbal self-harm : related to causing bodily harm.
According to the approach presented above, self-harm can be considered e.g. deliberate burning of one's skin with cigarettes or cutting oneself with various objects (e.g. razor blades). Self-aggression, however, can also be the constant support of yourself that you are a human being devoid of any value, whose life means nothing at all.
There are also concepts of auto-aggressive behavior, which include self-mutilation, suicide attempts and committed suicides. Some authors also include Münchausen's syndrome in the group of problems related to autoimmunity, in which patients may deliberately induce various symptoms (e.g. nose bleeds) in order to be under medical care.
Causes of self-harm
Autoaggression is a phenomenon the causes of which have not been clearly established so far. One thing is certain - any form of self-harm cannot be considered a variant of the norm. Autoaggression may appear as a manifestationexperiencing various emotional difficulties - in such situations, physical suffering would distract the patient from the psychological difficulties experienced by him.
Self-aggressive behavior can also be encountered in people who have experienced abuse by other people - this is the case, for example, in the case of childhood sexual abuse victims. In such situations, self-harm would allow patients to regain control over their own bodies - after all, they would be the ones to decide what kind and degree of damage they would cause to themselves.
Auto-aggression also occurs in patients who experience feelings of guilt for various reasons. Such a situation occurs, for example, in children from dysfunctional families, who have the impression that the improper functioning of the family system is their fault. Sometimes self-harm is a message, or more precisely - it is a cry for help.
A patient experiencing various emotional problems may not be able to talk about them with their relatives and in such a case the self-aggression aims to show the world that the mind of the person experiencing it is not all well.
It also happens that the patient feels unreal, has the impression that the world around him is unreal and untrue - in this case, auto-aggressive behaviors are supposed to restore the sense of reality and the feeling that the patient is actually alive and feeling ( Besides, you can meet the saying that "as long as a person feels pain, he lives").
Autoaggression can also occur in the course of various mental disorders and diseases. These types of problems are sometimes observed in patients with depression, but also in the course of various psychotic disorders (e.g. in schizophrenia).
Auto-aggressive behaviors are also common in children suffering from autism and people suffering from Rett syndrome. The described problems may also occur more often among patients struggling with eating disorders (e.g. with anorexia or bulimia). It happens, however, that autoimmunity is associated with some organic disease - central nervous system syphilis can be mentioned as an example.
What is the treatment of self-harm?
In the event that a loved one manifests any form of self-harm, he should definitely be persuaded to visit a specialist. It does not necessarily have to be a psychiatrist right away - initially you can go to a psychologist or psychotherapist. However, this should not be delayed - there is a risk that a patient who has previously attempted to cut their skin will eventuallywill go a step further and try to take his own life.
In order to be able to try to control auto-aggression, it is first necessary to find the causes of the problem. For this reason, it is beneficial to go to a psychologist or psychotherapist - this type of specialists, calmly and without haste, are able to conduct a thorough conversation with the patient.
It is possible that it will be necessary to go back to childhood and find in the history of events that could lead to a psychological trauma leading to the patient's manifestation of self-aggressive behavior already in adulthood.
Once the cause of auto-aggression has been found, then a mental he alth specialist can apply appropriate interactions to solve the patient's mental problems - typically in the case of auto-aggression, psychotherapy is used.
Psychiatrists also sometimes deal with patients with auto-aggression - but this is the case especially when these problems are related to a mental disorder or disease. Self-harm itself cannot be cured with some medications, but if the patient's auto-aggressive behavior appears in connection with some psychiatric entities - e.g. depression or schizophrenia - then appropriate treatment of such problems can also solve the problem of auto-aggressive behavior.
- SELF-ACCEPTANCE: 13 tips to feel good about yourself
- Happy are sick less - PSYCHIKA's impact on HEALTH
- Do you ever blame your mother for your own failures? Find out about the cultural reasons for thinking like this