Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD)

Thursday 1st March 2012

Thursday the 1st of March 2012 is international Self-Injury Awareness Day (SIAD). It is a day when we attempt to raise awareness about self-injury, break down stereotypes and debunk the many myths surrounding self-injury. In a show of support for SIAD, people are encouraged to wear orange ribbons, wristbands or beaded bracelets.

I just want to cut! AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!! I want to scream, S C R E A M! S C R E A M! #*%@?! But I can’t scream, nope. I can’t even yell. Mum (or worse Dad) would come running in asking “what’s wrong? Are you OK?” No one understands. They just don’t get it. How can I explain it, when I don’t even understand. There’s nothing REALLY wrong. I just can’t seem to sort out all these thoughts. RRRRRRR! My head hurts, it’s too much, my head just feels all tangled up. I feel all tangled up. I try to distract myself by watching TV, but I just can’t concentrate. I want to cut! It is the only thing that will make me feel better, the only thing that will help, the only thing that will stop all these thoughts and feelings. I don’t want to do it. It’s like an addiction. It’s all I can think about, because I know it will instantly calm me down. My friends seem to cope with stuff ok, worse stuff even, why can’t I? What’s wrong with me? Why do I need to cut myself to feel better?

Many of us cope with our problems in ways that are risky or harmful to ourselves. Some drink or eat too much, smoke or drive too fast, gamble or make ourselves sick though overwork and stress. Self-injury, although more shocking, is very like these more socially acceptable forms of self-harm. Like drinking or over-exercising, hurting oneself sometimes provides an escape from intolerable emotional pain.

Self-injury may be viewed as a maladaptive way of coping. It is typically not a failed suicide attempt. This is an important distinction because self-injury (particularly cutting) is often misunderstood as a failed attempt to kill oneself. However, self-injury rarely results in suicide. Whilst self-injury appears dangerous and destructive, it can actually be conceptualised as an attempt at self-healing or self-preservation.

Many adolescents experiment with self-injury and it is much more common than most people think. This is because self-injury is typically a very personal act conducted in private. It is not a manipulative or attention seeking behaviour. Individuals who self-injure often go to great lengths to hide their behaviour from family and friends, rarely disclosing their behaviour to others, or seeking psychological help or medical attention for their self-harm. Consequently, no one really knows how many people in our community are engaging in self-harm. Self-injury is not specific to any particular subcultures (e.g. Emo, Goth); people of all ages, genders, cultural backgrounds, religions, sexual preferences, and educational levels engage in self-harm.

Some people may self-harm just once or twice. For others it can become a habitual response to any overwhelming situation. They might self-harm several times per day during difficult periods in their life. Therefore, it is important that the issue is addressed immediately. If you have been self-harming, please seek support and advice from your general practitioner who can refer you to a psychologist who can help. If you suspect a friend or family member has been self-harming, try to be supportive whilst not making any assumptions about why they are self-harming or what they need. It is important that you do not force them to stop self-harming before they have developed other ways of successfully coping with their emotional distress. Gently recommend they speak to a mental health professional about their self-harm.

Madeline Wishart
PhD Student at Victoria University

Madeline Wishart is a PhD student in the School of Psychology at Victoria University investigating why people initially start self-harming; her research is entitled The Body as a Voice: A Biopsychosocial Understanding of Self-Harm. The study is supervised by Associate Professor Adrian Fisher and Dr. Karen Hallam. Anyone over 18 years of age is invited to take part in this online study, which aims to generate an understanding of self-harm within a subclinical population. Specifically, this study aims to explore what personal, psychological, social and relationship factors influence the commencement of self-harming behaviours.
This study will recruit three groups, those who self-harm (or have a history of self-harm), those who do not self-harm, and those who treat individuals who self-harm.

This anonymous online survey involves completing a questionnaire that should take approximately 25 minutes to one hour to complete. Participation in this research is entirely voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study at any time. Your survey responses will be completely anonymous and you will not be asked to provide your name, or any identifying information at any point in the survey.

On completion of the survey, you will have the choice of entering the draw to win one of 50 online iTunes vouchers valued at AUD$20 each.

For further information please go to:
Survey link: http://vuaehd.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_7OqtDc4F9baTotm
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thebodyasavoice
Email: madeline.wishart@live.vu.edu.au