- BPD Symptom: Self-Injury -
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Did you know? |
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reprinted with permission of The Menninger Clinic,
Houston, Texas |
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Did you know? |
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Self-injury is not limited to teens. |
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| Self-injury is a dangerous and potentially
life-threatening behavior that also occurs in adults
of both genders. Self-injury is a symptom of a
psychiatric disorder, and is common in persons
suffering from borderline personality disorder or
depression. Menninger is launching a Clinic-wide
initiative to learn more about the behavior and to
develop new protocols to treat it, since it is a
frequent health issue among patients.
Did you know?
While most persons who
self-injure are not attempting suicide, they may
accidentally kill themselves if their behavior goes
too far
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| Did you know? |
| What motivates people
to cut, burn or harm themselves may surprise you.
Adults injure themselves for many reasons including: |
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n |
For
attention. |
Harming themselves may seem like a
way to keep their loved ones concerned and connected. |
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n |
To feel alive. |
Persons who are severely traumatized
by sexual or physical abuse, neglect or a
traumatizing event may detach themselves
from their emotions and injure themselves so that they
can regain feelings. |
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n |
To distract. |
Self-injury helps some individuals
distract or release themselves from their emotional
pain, anxiety or depression. |
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n |
Because they feel they must. |
Some persons who
self-injure have a symptom of mental illness called
psychosis, common in borderline personality disorder
and schizophrenia, which causes them to break from
reality. |
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Did you know? |
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Because self-injury is
typically such a deeply ingrained behavior in older
adults with years of the pattern, providing patients
with alternatives is more effective than requiring
they stop their self-injurious behavior outright.
Treatment teams at Menninger work with patients to
discover what triggers them to self-injure and to
work together to develop alternative coping
strategies. |
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