Troubled teenagers carry a bulk of emotional issues around with them. Sometimes these issues become just too heavy to manage and these teens turn to self-harm as a means to relieve anxiety or stress.
As much as self-injury may seem like a perverse act that only people with mental disorders deal with, here you may be mistaken. Self-injury can affect anyone, from the straight A’s, president of the student council teen to the star athlete of the high school’s basketball team.
Normally, once the barrier keeping one from destroying one’s flesh has been broken, the self-injury can heighten and continue if not properly addressed. But how can a parent address such a matter? By understanding and getting to the root of the physical manifestations of harm being displayed by their child. These are the emotional issues behind them.
The Connection
A connection between a troubled teen’s emotional issues and his acts of self-injury can be distinct. Negative events in their lives such as a break-up with a boyfriend/girlfriend or difficulties fitting in with a new peer group, can drive a teenager to physically hurting himself.
The probability of the occurrence of self-harm in teens with a positive stable outlook is significantly less than those with a shaky self-concept to begin with. Even as negative events may bombard a teenager, if he is equipped with a sturdy, positive self-concept it is unlikely for him to turn to self-injury as a way to deal with personal issues.
How a teenager reacts or responds to the environment around him can also be a factor in the occurrence of acts of self-harm. Family troubles like divorce can create personal emotional issues which may in turn be manifested in a child’s self-harm. They are outwardly rebelling to the situation and using their flesh as the canvas of their negative feelings.
Once injuries to one’s self have begun, merely seeing the wounds on the flesh actually re-validate the emotional issues that a teen may be dealing with inside. By seeing these physical wounds, he is reminded of the wounds within him. And if these “emotional wounds” are not treated or addressed, then even as the physical wounds heal, they won’t disappear because more will follow.
Emotional issues themselves leave an adolescent feeling vulnerable, and this is when negative influences can strike their hardest. The temporary rush of relief that self-injury ironically provides, may be mistaken by him as a regaining of a sense of power over his vulnerability.
In reality, a self-injurer is not gaining a hold over his situation by prompting this pseudo-relief, but actually enslaving himself in the process. In order to free your child from this enslavement, free him from his emotional issues by providing guidance through counseling or therapy. When the wounds inside disappear, the wounds outside will too.
