March is National Self-Harm Awareness Month, which brings to the forefront a topic that people don’t always want to talk about. However, self-harm is more common than many may realize. Fifteen percent of college students and seventeen percent of adolescents in one survey stated they engaged in self-harm. Incidents of self-harm drop off in adulthood, but they are still there. National Self-Harm Awareness Month is about raising awareness and bringing attention to this condition.
If you are participating in self-harming, TruHealing Centers offers mental health treatment that can help you retake control of your life and learn to love yourself again.
What Is Self-Harm?
Self-harm or self-injury is the intentional physical injury that someone does to their body. It is typically non-lethal, although accidents like cutting too deep can lead to death. What self-harm really is, though, is a way to ease emotional pain. It’s an unhealthy coping mechanism that has many adverse effects.
Any physical damage to the body done to relieve stress or pain is self-harm, but some common methods include:
- Burns
- Cuts
- Bruising
- Hair pulling
- Stabbing
- Picking at the skin
- Scratching
- Carving words or symbols into skin
Self-harm tends to increase in intensity and frequency as people look for immediate relief from emotional pain.
Why Do People Self-Harm?
There is no singular cause of self-harm. Generally speaking, self-harm is due to the inability to cope. Most people develop coping mechanisms, some are healthy, and some are not. Exercise, for example, is usually a healthy coping mechanism. Substance abuse, on the other hand, is an unhealthy coping mechanism.
Those who self-harm also have trouble managing their emotions, both good and bad. They may not understand these emotions and can become quickly overwhelmed.
Although there are no clear causes for self-harm, there are risk factors such as mental health issues like depression or bipolar disorder. Or, those that self-harm may be victims of physical or sexual abuse. Some may feel misunderstood or alone in the world. Others may have a substance use disorder and are not sure how to get treatment.
What Is the Importance of Self-Harm Month?
National Self-Harm Awareness Month helps bring this important issue to the surface so that parents and educators better understand its symptoms and what to do to help those who self-harm.
During this month, mental health organizations, doctors’ offices, community centers, and treatment programs like TruHealing Centers talk and blog about what self-harm means and how to find help. Parents can discover what to do if their child is harming themselves and learn about resources where they can get help.
How Ca Truhealing Centers Help Self-Harm?
TruHealing Centers, with multiple offices along the east coast, provides both mental health treatment and substance abuse services. We offer comprehensive mental health treatment programs that help people of all ages understand why they do things like self-harm or self-medicate. We work with them to provide therapies that help them deal with their emotions in a healthy way, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and trauma therapy.
The TruHealing Centers staff know that individualized treatment plans ensure each client gets the mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment that will help them based on their personal needs. The individual therapy programs at TruHealing Centers help you understand emotional pain and develop a healthy way to manage your feelings. Our therapeutic approach deals with the whole person and their stress in their lives.
The many facilities that makeup TruHealing Centers offer a continuum of care that includes:
- Detox
- Residential living
- Trauma therapy
- Community living programs
- Gender-specific treatment programs
Learn More About Self-Harm at TruHealing Centers
March is Self-Harm Awareness Month, and the TruHealing Centers team wants to use this time to raise awareness and spread information. If you are using self-harm to cope with stress and anxiety, we can help. Find out more about what self-harm can mean and how our mental health treatment can give you your life back. Give us a call at [Direct] or fill out our online contact form today.