The fashion of self harm...

The fashion of self harm...

by Deleted user -
Number of replies: 3

From working with groups of children in the summer (through leading camps and trips abroad), I noticed a horrendous trend making its way around groups of (especially) girls. The widespread popularity of self harm has become more evident.

Since when did harming yourself make you part of a cool group? Clearly, there are those that self harm allows them to release their pent up anger or stress or those that use it crave the attention that they so badly need but don't get... These are the people that should be receiving the adequate treatment as set out by this lovely flow chart (http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/self-harm).

Rather help them, than those who think it is the new craze... Get an iPhone, iPod and a few scratches on the arm garnered from a session with your friends. The fascination with this trend once 'associated-with-mental/crazy-people' seems to be spreading to everyone who wants to fit in.

In reply to Deleted user

Re: The fashion of self harm...

by Deleted user -

Hi Amelia, 

I agree with your post in that self harm has become a "new trend." I would also think that by engaging in an action such as this may be a cry for help or attention. There are sociological aspects that would allow you to harm yourself, or you may be right, it could just be peer pressure or to be cool, but I do feel there is someone is emotional burdened by something to fall to these actions. I agree that the people should seek treatment and the flow chart seems like a good place to start when considering management and treatment.

-Nicole

In reply to Deleted user

Re: The fashion of self harm...

by Kabir Singh Sandhu -

Thanks amelia, a very interesting read

The thing which caught my eye was that people are now doing it to fit in? This is shocking! After reading around the subject a little bit I came across this very interesting paper.  It concludes that very often self harm is a private act and is not meant to impact on others or even be shown to others.  Would be interesting to know how this new ‘fashion’ has come about? I hear a lot of stories from my school/university going cousins in India about self harm and suicides - would be interesting to see which areas are more prevelant for self harm.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22609137

Kabir

In reply to Kabir Singh Sandhu

Re: The fashion of self harm...

by Vanessa Laura Chiappa -

Hi Amelia, reading this post was pretty shocking, it’s the first I’ve heard of self-harm as a ‘trend’. I agree with Kabir above, from my perception and understanding, the act of self-harming is a private one, often people who self-harm go to great lengths to hide their scars and can invent enormous lies to explain their injuries. The fact that it’s now being done as a group is very worrying, and you wonder where the responsibility lies ... what gave these young people the idea that self-harm was a ‘glamourous’ thing to do, was it the internet/magazines/TV or word-of-mouth that gave the idea that to ‘fit in’ you have to display these scars.

It reminded me of a news story last year about a schoolboy who had died playing the ‘fainting game’ where you restrict oxygen to your brain by constricting the neck with hands or a tie to get a ‘high’ (similar to inhaling laughing gas which another youngster died of just this week), this game is well-known amongst many youngsters and is said to have an almost ‘cult-like’ status. Although they’re aware of the dangers they still take part, assuming they know when to let go. Are these kids purposefully rebelling, or are they simply doing it because all their friends are, and at what point in the chain can we as adults, healthcare professionals, parents and teachers control these games and put across the real dangers they pose.