EmoNightmareRose

(Some of the examples are disturbing, take caution for the squeamish)

Self Mutilation is commonly seen now. Some of you know it as 'cutting' relating to the term 'emo'. But looking deeper into the matter what does it mean? It isn't just taking a razor and slicing a wrist to be emo. It isn't barely burning yourself.

Self Mutilation is a mental disturbance and can be seen in many mental illnesses and even as a side effect to some physical conditions, commonly conditions that exist through life.

There are cases that are lesser and extreme, and normally it isn't done with a razor and tiny cuts.

An extreme example was a sexual abuse victim whom revealed to her psychologist that she felt so guilty she scrub herself in the shower with soap. but she could never feel clean so she scrubbed on the inside as well until it would burn. She felt herself that this was a way to kill her guilt of sexual abuse.
After psychological analysis the doctor found it wasn't because of her guilt. In more actuality it was because the only way her father showed emotional attention was through rape, and she was lonely when she took these showers. She mimicked the pain she felt during rape to not feel alone.
This is a form of self mutilation.

Others can rage from knives, severe burns, biting, etc. Cutting is the most common form and is now featured in the media more and more. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, LIFE by Keiko Suenobu, and Cut are all literary modern examples.
Celebrities such as Owen Wilson are now even admitting they had a problem.

This is a horrible problem, and I feel it should be addressed in all seriousness, and I do not even want to hear the word 'emo'.

I feel that many people and the media, and cyberspace have all mislabeled and even toned down this disorder. Simply labeling it 'emo' or 'goth' when it goes so far beyond that.

It can be a life threatening condition and as my father being someone who self mutilates I am at risk for developing a habit. It was partly brought on because of his bipolar disorder and it is carried in the male gene.

So anyway what are everyone's thoughts on this and does anyone have any personal experiences?

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Zev

Yeah, bad stuff happens sometimes. Nothing would ever make me want to hurt myself. I always thought that they just wanted attention. Which I think some people use the "I cut myself" just for attention. I think that some people out there probably do have some kind of mental disorder, and with a combination of something horrible happening to them, they may turn to hurting themselves.

For example, my roomate is mental. He used to be married to a crazy woman who tried to kill him in his sleep. They are now divorced, and I don't know what happened to her. However he often beats his head against the wall several times a day, just because. Its really loud and annoying, I will be watching tv and hear it over the television. Honestly I think he is way beyond any help, and I feel kinda bad for him.

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nicoleantonia

It's definitely not always that people want attention. I cut when I was younger and never told anyone until now, now really that I learned that its silly.

I've talked to a lot of cutters before and its all for different reasons. Some say it's a physical release for their emotional pain, that its better to feel that than anything they felt on the inside. Some people said it was for control, with everything else going rampant, their bodies were the things they could control and they exercised that. I read this book called Cut by.. I think Patricia McCormick or something, and one girl in it mentioned that it's like a high. That makes a lot of sense to me, actually. It releases adrenaline and endorphins. Suddenly things feel a little better.

What it all boils down to, though, is that its a terribly sad habit. People need to learn how to manage their feelings of depression and loneliness better.

Tula

Self mutilation is not a 'new' thing. In some cultures and religions it's common.
During the reign of the Spanish Inquisition, many of the priests (all of whom thought themselves overly devout) practiced self-flagellation, a method of punishing their physical body for any sins they thought they may have committed under whatever circumstance.
One of the differences between some Islamic sects is whether or not they flog themselves during certain religious holidays such as Ede.

The extreme example you provided is one of conditioning. Yeah it involved . . . self mutilation but the psychological basis for it is kinda different from the other examples you gave. She wasn't trying to punish herself.

As for everything else. . . . .

I'm not sure if I think self mutilation is a problem at least not in the way that you do. The driving force behind self mutilation in some instances can arguably be seen as necessary. So I guess it would depend on the overall goal a person has in mind for themself.

Example 1:
I bite my nails. Am I hurting myself? Well . . . . depends on how long I'm biting at the nail. If I've reached the point where I have no nail, am bleeding from the finger, but I'm still biting. . . yeah that can be a problem and is self mutilation.
How serious is it? Not very. Unless I bleed out which isn't likely.

Example 2:
Someone with cancer willingly decides to go through with chemotherapy. I know this is not the kind of self-mutilation you're talking about but it fits. Chemotherapy does have the capacity to kill cancerous cells in the body but at the same time it almost completely wipes out the person's immune system more than 90% of the time. (Bare in mind that a person is willingly harming themself with no 100% guarantee that they'll get better)
Is this a serious problem? Yep.

Example 3:
Someone purges on a meal. For whatever reason they have either because they're allergic to whatever they just ate or maybe they have some sort of eating disorder. The process can be destructive to the body but the end goal for two such individuals are different.
How bad is it? Well . . . . it's less destructive than the chemo but a tad more destructive than me biting my nails.

The point I'm trying to make is that self mutilation happens all the time.
I have the insane feeling that the kind of self mutilation you're referring to is the kind whose cause was brought on by some mental defect, imblanace, and or trauma. In which case, the examples I just gave are kinda useless. (all that typing for nothing yeah I know.)

In regards to trauma, there are tons of different programs, medications, and techniques that help people that have experienced some crazy crap in life overcome the mental problems they may or may not have developed. If self-mutilation (in some instances considered a suicidal tendency) was an affect of the trauma, there are state programs that handle those sorts of cases and there are medical facilities for such individuals. To my knowledge, most programs (for this sorta thing) work on the theory/knowledge that medication alone isn't enough and so counseling is one of the primary couses of action and if necessary medication is prescribed.

In cases specific to suicide, depression, and or if a person becomes a danger to others (depending on the circumstance), counseling is always recommended but more often than not these sorts of individuals are prescribed medication. About seven years ago, the drug of preference was Zoloft and most institutions began the 50 minute hour (money grubbing doctors) and sessions were bi-weekly or more. A couple of decades ago the main recourse for extreme patients was electric shock therapy (a procedure I detest). It's not used often anymore but . . . sometimes drugs aren't enough.

In regards to bipolar individuals (and some other mental issues), upon diagnosis medication is usually the first thing given a patient. Nowadays one of the more popular medications is Topomax. As to how effective it is. . . I can argue that it's not that effective but I'm biased. And then there's this new brain surgery . . . . you have tons of options.

Then there are the people with bad habits, life threatening tendencies, etc., couneling, counseling, counseling. And medication too sometimes. It all depends on the circumstances.

Something I should add:
No matter how prevalent self mutilation may be in the media, the chances of it influencing someone else or that someone else would copy those sorts of tendencies aren't very high. It's more likely that there already is a high number of individuals engaging in these behaviors for whatever reason and the media is responding to it.
The different multitude of reasons behind self mutilation are so different at times, that it isn't that big a deal I don't think.

PS: Cut was a great book.

beast

I have personal experience with self-mutilation. I have bitten through my own flesh many times. Many have aked me how I can do something that is that gross. I do not like the fact that my hands look gnarled and chipping. I am slso affraid that I will get an infection especially everytime I draw blood. I never learned to express my emotions in a non violent manner. As a result I tend to hurt myself when I want to in fact hurt someone else but cannot. So I think that social skills are definetaly to blame. If people are socially normal they know how to expres themselves and can do so without violence to themselves or others.

aceman67

Self mutilation is a psychological disorder.

If you cut your self, you have problems and you're an idiot. There is no justification for purposefully injuring yourself. Pure and simple. Seek help if you do this, as this may be a precursor to some deeper underlying problem you are not yet aware of.

I'm closing this since this is glorifying what is essentially and deep, disturbing, and harmful activity.

Its just sick. Darwinism at work, I guess...

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