Eating disorders and self harm are often linked
Cutting is a form of self injury that many people who struggle with eating disorders also participate in. It is the act of self harming your body without having the intent to commit suicide. Although thoughts of depression and suicide may be contemplated, at the time of cutting this is usually not the goal.
Self multilation is a behavior that is common in people who are battling anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders because of the intense pain and emotion that engulf people with these disorders.
Often times, either the eating or the cutting is the main coping tool and the actions are interchanged in different circumstances. Typically, although not always, one manner is the most prominent at a given time.
Individuals who self injure do so in many different ways. They can include:- punching themselves
- scratching or hitting their bodies
- biting areas they can reach
- picking the scabs of old wounds until they bleed again
- cutting into skin, sometimes in particular shapes, with scissors or other sharp objects
In extreme circumstances, they may also do the following:
- choking themselves or somehow constricting their own airways
- burning their skin with either a lighter or cigarette butt
- using found objects like pins, wire, or tools to cut
Why?
People who self harm have as many reasons as there are people. What they often have in common is an unappeasable pain that they cannot rationalize. Sometimes this is because of abuse, a past situation, years of neglect or smothering from parents, or simply because the person is overwhelmed with their emotions.
It is common that people who cut have bottled up anger that is never dealt with. This rage stays in their bodies and the only way they know how to deal with it is to feel the pain physically. Voices, whether their own or someone else’s, usually scream internally at them before, during and after they are absorbed into the behavior.
Demographics
Although it is reported to be the most common in women and with young people, the statistics that have been gathered were taken from hospital records. As many individuals do not go to the hospital for treatment, there are possibly many demographics missing from the statistics.
Treatment
It is frequent that a person who cuts themselves is suffering from an underlying mental illness or disorder. During treatment with a professional, these issues must be dealt with in order for the cutting to stop. It is best to find a therapist who specializes in the underlying disorder and who is familiar with self harm.
