Adolescent Self-Injury Disorder is a condition in which adolescents repeatedly hurt themselves, usually by cutting or burning. The teens will continue these behaviors, even while understanding the potential consequences, dangers, and even having a sincere desire to stop. The disorder is usually characterized as either a behavioral addiction or an impulse control disorder, both which relate to the addictive, repetitive nature of the harmful acts, which the teen no longer has control over. Teen Self-Injury Treatment not only address teens’ harmful behaviors, ensuring that they stop, but also includes work with teens to address the underlying feelings, beliefs, and struggles that triggered the harmful behaviors.
There’s often a complex combination of feelings that adolescents with Self-Injury Disorder experience, including guilt, same, low-self worth, and a strong desire for control. These feelings may be caused from a number of different sources, including school, friends, family relationships, and/or perhaps symptoms from a Co-Occuring Mental Disorder, such as Anxiety or Depression. During Adolescent Self-Injury Treatment, therapists support teens to look beyond the harmful behaviors they’ve been acting out and evaluate the underlying triggers. By uncovering these stressors and triggers that exist in teens’ lives, therapists can help teens to address their lives fully and heal completely.
Adolescents with Self-Injury Disorder also often hold a number of false beliefs, especially about themselves. These beliefs include, but are not limited to, the thought process that has led them to hurt themselves, in order to achieve some desired feelings. Therapists work with teens to identify these beliefs, where they came from, and examine their falsity. Then, therapists help the adolescents to let go of these false beliefs and implement new ones, which will help them to view themselves and the world from a much more healthy and true perspective.
And lastly, it’s common for adolescents with this disorder to also be dealing with a number of different personal struggles, often related to academic stress, friends, or other relationships at school. These sources of stress in teens’ lives are real and consistent, and so one of the primary goals of Adolescent Self-Injury Treatment is to enable teens to implement new stress coping mechanisms and behaviors so that they can deal with their struggles in more positive ways. Some of these coping mechanisms might include things like breathing techniques, meditation, exercise programs, and/or engaging in new hobbies and/or practices.
By approaching Adolescent Self-Injury Treatment from a holistic standpoint, evaluating all aspects of the teens’ lives, we can support adolescents to go beyond just recovering from their current harmful behaviors. We can teach them about who they are, encourage their sense of self, help correct negative thought patterns, enrich relationships. Ultimately then, they become better, stronger people because of their treatment, and then go on to live healthy, happy lives.
About the author – Robert Hunt is a recovering addict of 20 years. He has devoted his life to helping others suffering from chemical addictions as well as mental health challenges. Robert maintains many blogs on drug addiction, eating disorders and depression. He is a sober coach and wellness advocate and a prominent figure in the recovery community.
Follow me on Twitter @RecoveryRobert
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