Self-injury is prevalent among college students
- Sep 30, 2016
- 1 min read
It’s amazing what long sleeves and fake smiles can hide. People often keep their habit a secret, but the urge to self-harm isn’t uncommon, especially in adolescents and young adults.
This opinion article was originally featured in PantherNOW and talks about the how prevalent self-injury is among college students.
Check out the article’s excerpt below and click the link if you want to read the full story!
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Maytinee Kramer/Staff Writer
It’s amazing what long sleeves and fake smiles can hide. People often keep their habit a secret, but the urge to self-harm isn’t uncommon, especially in adolescents and young adults.
According to Janis Whitlock, director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behaviors in the Family Life Development Center, and lead author of the study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, “Self-injurious behavior is defined as inflicting harm to one’s body without the obvious intent of committing suicide.”
The most common form of self-harm is using a sharp object to cut one’s skin, but it also covers a wide range of behaviors including burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts. Hurting yourself —or thinking about hurting yourself— is a sign of emotional distress, and can grow more intense if a person continues to use it as a coping mechanism.
Self-harm can help a person feel as if they are in control, reducing any uncomfortable feelings of tension or distress they may have. Self-harm is not a mental illness, but more of a behavior that indicates a lack of coping skills.
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Photo Credit: Flickr
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