Addiction and Self-Harm

Self-harm happens when someone with emotional build-up starts to feel overwhelmed, and they are looking for ways to numb or pour out the pain. A common misunderstanding is to mix suicidal attitude with intentional self-harm, sometimes called DSH and other times as NSSI, (non-suicidal self-injury). However, they are not alike, and they should be diagnosed separately.

Signs and Symptoms of It Include:

• Scars
• Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises, bite marks, 
• The excessive tugging of the skin
• always holding sharp objects
• even in hot weather, wearing long pants or long sleeve.
• Frequent accidental injury.
• Little or no interpersonal relationships.
• Behavioural and unpredictability, impulsivity, and emotional instability.
• Making statements of worthlessness or helplessness.

Examples of Self-harm

Self-Harm Is Usually Done Privately and In a Ceremonial Manner that Usually Leaves a Skin Pattern. Types of It Are:

• A cutting
• Scratching
• Burning
• Carving things on the skin.
• Punching, Self-hitting, or headbanging.
• stabbing the skin using sharp objects.
• putting things under the skin
• Hair pulling
• Biting
• Burning
• Head-butting
• Hitting
• Carving
• Scratching
• Skin picking
• Intentional picking flesh wounds.

The front of the chest , arms, and legs, are the most common self-injury targets, but any part of their body can be used for self-injury. Self-injurers can use a variety of methods to hurt themselves. When you’re angry, you might feel compelled to self-injure. Being angry can cause an urge to self-injure. Many people self-harm only a couple of times then end it, but it can become a long-term behavior for others.

Self-harm is when people deliberately hurt themselves, while suicide comes with the intent to stop the pain by dying. Self- mutilating is usually seen as a release for suffering or is causing the person to suffer further. The British Medical Journal declared that bruising (at 64.6 percent) and poisoning(at 30.7 percent) are the most common methods of DSH.

Self-harm, also known as self-mutilation, is described as a self-inflicted and intentional injury to body tissue that causes discomfort, bruising, or bleeding without any suicidal intent or socially acceptable purposes tattooing or body piercing. People who hurt themselves intentionally commonly seek peace in the action; for certain people, it’s a shout for help. Self-harm Episodes usually difficult to rate as, mostly, they are neither reported nor treated. Self-mutilating behaviour is often wrongly diagnosed as attempts of suicide when, really, the intent was not meant to be disastrous.

Substance abuse and self-harm are incredibly intertwined. People that struggle with mental disorders like but are not limited to eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. individuals that have had traumatic life events like abuse, neglect, and trauma pose a greater risk of self-harm and substance abuse. Substance abuse leads to self-harm. As the “high” increases, people lose self-control, resulting in increased rates. Being influenced by substances can also lead to self-injury being more than planned.

Causes

There is neither one simple nor one inherent cause for an individual to self-harm; instead, there is a combination of several other factors that lead to such behavior.

Generally, Causes of Self-Harm May Come From:

• Poor Coping Skills: Nonsuicidal self-harm usually results from the inability to cope with psychological pain in healthy ways.
• Difficulty Managing Emotions: This is when a person has difficulty regulating or expressing and grasping emotions. The combination of feelings that trigger self-injury can be complicated. Among other things, it may be a feeling of worthlessness.

Self-Harm and Stimulants Behavior

Self-harm has been attributed to stimulant drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the process may be different in people who suffer from addiction.

Stimulants can promote self-harm both during and after use. Stimuli may trigger hallucinations, delusional thought, and anxiety while intoxicated. These symptoms start a significant detachment from reality. When service is discontinued, the resulting crash can cause extreme depression, hopelessness and suicidal thoughts, and a desire to harm oneself.

The People at Risk

Self-harm is very common than people know, but it takes place in private, and the scars are concealed under clothes. It is more prevalent in adolescents ; statistics show that 12 to 23% of teenagers have self-harmed at some stage in their lives. The high numbers are partly due to the stresses of puberty and school. Adolescents are under a lot of stress, with inadequate impulse regulation, social pressure, and their brains and bodies’ growth contributing to the emotional tumult. Women are thought to be at greater risk, which may be caused by gender burden that encourage women to keep their misery, indignation, and frustration inside. On the other hand, people find it more humane to reveal it outwardly.

Other Circumstances that Increase the Probability of Establishing Self-Harming Habits Include:

• Sexual abuse
• Childhood abuse
• Emotional neglect
• Dissociation
• Psychiatric disorder
• Substance abuse

Extreme feelings of sadness, anxiety, rage, and indignation can contribute to self-mutilation, leaving long-term and permanent marks. Self-mutilation causes long-term skin or tissue injury, so it can’t be taken with levity. Self-mutilation is usually a very irrational and private act. This causes the individual to become even more isolated due to their feelings of guilt.

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Addiction Aggravates the Situation

Self-harm may be a way of addiction because people desire the injurious relief it offers. Some people claim it is a way to get their feelings out of their system, resulting in the sense of peace, relaxation, and, in some instances, an endorphin rush.. These emotions are usually fleeting. They are often accompanied by feelings of remorse and shame and an urge to hurt themselves, leading to more episodes and other harmful outlets. Self-harmers are often trapped in a dangerous loop that they can find challenging to escape independently.

Substance abuse is one such release that an individual who is self-mutilation might consider. According to an Oxford survey, 8.7% of people who struggle with self-harm often misuse drugs. For various of the same cause that people with DSH cut or harm themselves, they can seek relief in drugs or alcohol. They could take substances as poison to cause themselves harm.

Substance abuse is another be a way to self-medicate or to stop the pain even more, but it just makes things worse. Some people begin by self-mutilating and then progress to drug abuse, while others start as drug abusers and then progress to self-harm. Both of them have the potential to be dangerous. When under the influence of drugs, self-injuring activities are harmful because they reduce reaction times and minimize nerve endings. When someone cuts, for example, they can cut too deeply, resulting in extreme or even horrific injuries before realizing the injury’s extent. Drugs may worsen depression and anxiety, contributing to more risky habits, like suicide.

Warning Symptoms

Those that regularly enlist in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) says that 90 per cent of the time, it offers temporary relief from crushing emotions and antagonistic thoughts, as said by Current Psychiatry. While this seems beneficial, it is critical to recognize that it isn’t safe to relieve stress this way and can be handled accordingly. It may be a sign of something more serious, and many people who have NSSI still have drug abuse issues.

Some Symptoms of This Disorder Include:

• Noticeable injuries that aren’t easily explained
• Wearing long-sleeved clothing at inappropriate times in an attempt to hide wounds
• Avoidance of social situations
• Isolation
• Impulsivity
• Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness
• Personal identity issues
• Blades, broken glass, scissors, lighters, and knives are often found in areas where they do not belong and are readily available.

Cuts and injuries are most often seen on the legs, arms, and stomach, both of which are readily accessible and protected. Self-harm cases abound on social media platforms, and some even exalt it. Cases where celebrities self-mutilate tend to be on the rise worldwide. Too many visits to pro-self-harm websites may indicate a more severe problem. It’s time to seek treatment if you or someone you know is exhibiting these warning signs.

Options of Treatment

Signs of self-harm are challenging to detect, and treat. it’s recently that the disorder becomes known to the public. Self-harm episodes often indicate an existing psychological condition, but not all the time. Treatment can be much more complex when self-mutilating behaviour is combined with Addiction. Many who suffer from Addiction and self-mutilating behaviours need advanced care that simultaneously tackles both issues.

Dual diagnosis treatment grasps the various constraints that lead individuals to self-harm. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be an effective tool along with group, family and individual therapies.. Suppose a person dealing with self-mutilation has undergone some traumatic incident or cause in the past or present. In that case, dual diagnosis therapy will help them discover the problems and cope more healthily.

Suppose a person dealing with self-mutilation has undergone some traumatic incident or cause in the past or present. In that case, dual diagnosis therapy will help them discover the problems and cope more healthily.

Dual diagnosis therapy is effective because it encourages practical skills and methods for dealing with stress, indignation, resentment, sadness, and anxiety. FRN’s trained experts strive to stay on top of the latest studies and alternative treatments, and we’ll give you the needed help to resolve self-mutilating habits successfully. Call now through 615-490-9376 to speak with one of our admissions facilitators about resuming a safe lifestyle and avoiding self-harm in treatment.