NON- SUICIDAL SELF INJURY!!

This self-mutilation in borderline personality disorder seems to be common and most of us can relate t this. let's understand it more easily by case example, 27-year-old girl unemployed Disha belongs to a poor family and only had the responsibility of whole family members due to consecutive failures in her exams when the family pressures, the burden of marriage and societal pressure started overpowering she indulged her self into the habit of self-mutilation and started getting pleasure out of it because at that time she thought by doing so it can help her to overcome all negative emotions and painfully stimulus around her! but she never attempted suicide and later when her body became fragile and dismantled she was diagnosed with non-suicidal self-harm or injury.

The intentional destruction of ones owns body tissues without any suicidal intent and the purpose which is not socially sanctioned that includes behaviours such as cutting, burning, scratching, and banging or hitting.

 

Now apart from BPD, non-suicidal self harm(NSSH) is studied in detail to examine etiology and epidemiology.

who self mutilate?

 there is more prevalence in girls 13-14 years of age than boys is seen,  6% adults also reported the history of non-suicidal self-harm (NSSI) these rates are higher among people ho have psychiatric history and particularly people who report the characteristics associated with negative emotions, distress depression, anxiety and poor emotional regulation and the people who are prone to self-criticism and self-directed negative emotions NSSI is especially common in them as in case of Disha.

this disorder is common in both male and female and the new researches have shown the prevalence rate is same among both genders only the methods used for self harm is different that is men are more likely to use hitting or burning whereas, women go for cutting and also common in people who report the non-hetero-sexual orientation and Caucasians.

why do people self injure?

functions to (temporarily) alleviate overwhelming negative emotion.  performance of NSSI results in reduced negative emotions as well as feelings of calm and relief, some use it as self-punishment or self-harm, NSSI can serve multiple other functions, such as a desire to influence others or to produce a physical sign of emotional distress, but each of these functions is relevant only to a minority of people who self-injure.  some intrapersonal reasons(emotional regulation) interpersonal (manipulation, influence.) NSSI is most often performed in the absence of suicidal ideation.

NSSI may represent a unique risk factor for suicide as it is strongly associated with emotional and interpersonal distress, which increases the risk for suicidal ideation and (or) desire, and desensitizes people to the pain associated with SIBs, which increases the capability to act on the suicidal desire.

Misconceptions

Is this the symptom of BPD(BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER)?

1. DSM-5 has classified NSSI as its own diagnostic entity for further study.

2. CSA (CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE) is considered to be the etiological causal factor?

there is a modest association between them!

    indeed, NSSI sometimes serves interpersonal functions; however, across studies by diverse investigators using diverse methods and populations, it has become clear that NSSI is infrequently attention-seeking. Instead, NSSI is most often performed in private as a way to quickly alleviate intense negative emotions

diagnostics and self-help

1. both theoretically and practically it was found this is due to the deficit in emotional regulation, can be tackled by emotional regulation strategies can be performed by self or with the help of experts.

2. psychological interventions (counseling, emotional regulation techniques, etc.)

"learn to live, live to learn with grace! joy! happiness! embrace and praise yourself at each step of life, Entire cosmos is with you. It evolves through the way you face and overcome challenges of life. Use each challange as advantage in your life!"