Managing Self-Injurious Behavior

For individuals who engage in self-injurious behavior, the psychological disorder may not be grounded in a desire to commit suicide. Contrary to popular believe, self-injurious behavior is not a suicidal tendency or suicidal ideation practice but, instead, may be simply avoidance or escape coping mechanism.

Self-injurious behavior can be classified as mild, moderate or severe. While there are many theories as to the underlying cause and origin, self-injurious behavior is strongly believed to be a tension-relieving practice. For many individuals, there is a physiological response that is closely correlated to the act of self-injury and, without proper management, the self-injury may begin as mild and result in severe, unintended life threatening health complications.

In terms of physiological response, for individuals who suffer from self-injurious tendencies there is a marked change in cardiovascular function when the self-injurious behavior is engaged. However, in most cases, these cardiovascular functions are short lived, lending to the assumption that the self-injurious behavior may only provide a temporary relief of stress or anxiety. As a result, individuals who engage in self-injurious behavior may engage in a greater severity of self-injurious behavior in hopes of acquiring greater degrees and long periods of stress relief.

If you experience complications associated with a tendency to practice self-injury, it is important to seek psychological intervention as soon as possible. While you may feel that there is a suicidal stigma associated with your self-injury behavior, in most individuals the complication is simply a way in which to emotionally cope by eliciting physiological responses that alleviate tension. By alleviating tension, your may find there is a tendency to commit greater self-injurious activities. Without proper treatment and intervention, your severe self-injurious practices may, inadvertently, lead to physical injury that is irreversible and may even be life threatening.