As emotional beings, we have used hundreds of ways to cope with overwhelming sensations or feelings.
This is different for everyone and also depends on our personality and upbringing.
As we grew older, we observed and picked up little tips and tricks that helped us navigate the puzzle of life. We learned new skills, how to form relationships, and how to handle adversity and times of emotional crisis.
Although this seems like the normal trajectory of a child’s development, why have many young people today resorted to coping with life’s challenges by inflicting damage to their bodies?
But more importantly, what can we do as adults to ensure that we do our best to ensure that young people today are supported through their recovery from self-harming behaviours?
Before we begin, one critical and often overlooked aspect of self-harm needs to be mentioned.
For a time, many believed that self-harm was mainly due to obsessive attention-seeking, where individuals would actively harm their bodies for others to see.
However, this could not be farther from the truth.
With increased awareness and scientific understanding of the issue, it is now widely accepted that self-harm and self-mutualisation are forms of chronic behavioural addiction.
In other words, these behaviours are driven by triggers, cravings and urges very similar to those felt by people addicted to drugs.
You may be wondering how this is possible? Drugs are addictive; they make your brain create dopamine, while cutting or burning yourself only creates pain - Why would someone feel the need to repeat these behaviours compulsively?
It all comes down to the question of control.
Self-harm is often used as a coping mechanism to find relief or comfort from distressing thoughts and emotions.
Within this process of gaining mental relief from distress, young people can now reassert control over their mental state through self-harming behaviours.
And when you often experience emotional distress, having control over your outcomes through self-harm can become highly addictive.
This is the reality that many young people face today, and many people still mistake self-harm for attention-seeking behaviours.
It is important to recognise that self-harm is not for attention but is often a symptom of deeper mental health issues.
When young people feel that they have no other outlet to cope with their emotions, they may turn to self-harm as a means of finding relief or much-needed control.
However, self-harm is not a sustainable coping mechanism, and it is our responsibility as a society to support young people in finding healthier coping alternatives that they can use throughout their lives.
At Lions Campus, we aim to remove any stigma surrounding self-harming behaviours and provide a supportive environment that our fellows can use to rediscover healthier ways of coping.
Ultimately, it is clear that we need to significantly reevaluate how we approach and support teenage mental health. For the thousands of victims out there, are we ready as a society to ask the relevant questions and accept the answers that accompany them?
The only way to find out is forward.
