Yuku free message boards

***Disclaimer - this is not necessarily the opinion of this forum, though it is a definition of Self Mutilation from a psychiatric Dictionary - be careful while reading, it is explicit in its information.***


Self Mutilation

Maiming or injuring the self, including the willful production of any symptom, syndrome or disease.

Self Mutilation, in general is nonspecific in its origin and significance and can thus be observed in a variety of settings. It is sometimes part of a suicide attempt and may then represent a discharge of aggression against the self or against parental introjections. It may represent a way of relieving guilt by expiating acts committed or phantasies entertained. It has been reported in soldiers who attempted thereby to evade their assignment to battlefield stations: Many observers have noted the high frequency of schizophrenic disorders in such soldiers.

In psychiatric hospitals, probably the two most frequent forms of self mutilation are repetitive wrist cutting and cigarette burning of the forearms: Both tend to be repeated in a stereotyped way, with the patient seemingly fascinated by the sight of the blood oozing from the cut or by the sight and odor of burning flesh. Most such patients give little if any indication that they are suffering the pain one would anticipate from such wounds. Some authors consider wrist cutting as distorted autoerotic activity that simultaneously defends against and gratifies the libidinal impulses; the cuttings on the skin represent the female genitalia. Other authors, while agreeing that wrist slashing is more common among females, find it to be indicative of more serious pathology than mere neurotic distortion. It occurs most often in women with a history of physical trauma, in Childhood, with menstrual irregularities, with difficulty in sexual identification, and with depression. For such women, the act seems to be a way of gaining self control and reintegration in situations of stress where they experience difficulty in thinking clearly and acting effectively.

In addition to wrist cutting and burning, the following have also been reported; abrasion, head banging, ingestion of medication and other products, jumping from heights, hair pulling, insertion of foreign bodies into the urethra, self enucleation (removal) of the eye, self castration, removal of tongue.

From the point of view of psychiatric diagnosis, probably the most frequent currently reported as self mutilators are borderline personality or schizophrenia. In these patients, the motives included relieving feelings of inner depersonalisation, lessening inner tension, trying to solve genital conflicts, using the sight of his blood to gain assurance that he is alive, and denying the inability to control the body.