Self Harm and Eating Disoders

A scary statistic: 40.8 percent of people with eating disorders have admitted to self harm, such as cutting and burning. (http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2010/october/peebles.html). Unfortunately this same study found the physicians often miss self harming behaviors, tending to ask “patients” who fit the profile (older white female, struggling with bulimia) and not posing these same questions to teenagers and others who did fit the profile. Just like eating disorder behaviors, people rarely offer the information unless specifically asked about self harm.

Those who harm themselves are usually embarrasses, ashamed and feel guilt about it. Thus, they learn how to hide it, and tend not to volunteer the information. Add an eating disorder into the mix, and they become very secretive not only about the self harm, but also the eating disorder behaviors. This “secrecy” is not meant to be manipulative or deceitful, instead, it serves the purpose of helping the person continue to survive and cope.
Yes, I am saying that self harm and eating disordered behavior are coping skills;
Yes, I am saying that they are NOT healthy coping skills, but for those who struggle with these issues, these coping behaviors are the only tools they know that works.

There are a lot of misconceptions about people who self harm. The most common one is that the behavior is used to get attention. Interestingly enough, there are other reasons people self harm. One, is when the body is injured, the brain releases endorphins and adrenalin to help heal the body and cope with the pain. It serves as an immediate release to a probably long term problem. Second, sometime people feel so numb and depressed, self harm reminds them that they can still feel something.

Do these people ever get better? Yes, people do recover from self harm and from eating disorders. It may be a long process, with a series of slips along the way, but with the help of a trusted therapist, a eating disorder/self harm save physician, dieticians, and of course family and friends, people can and do recover from these issues.