Self-injury has received growing recognition both clinically and culturally. Over the years, psychologists have theorized that individuals engage in self-h arm in an attempt to manage difficult negative emotions when other coping mechanisms are unavailable. This has been the leading theory when it comes to explaining why our young people often cut, scratch, or burn their skin and hit or punch themselves. However, two researchers at Harvard are looking at self-harm in a new way, attempting to broaden our knowledge of it and enhance its treatment protocols. They started by looking at the motivations behind self-harm rather than its emotional benefit. Through research they discovered that, after a painful stimulus is removed, all individuals experience a “short but intense state of euphoria”. This is true for everyone, not just those who self-harm. Therefore, those who self-harm do not perceive or experience pain differently, they are simply associating the act of cutting with relief.
This initial conclusion still begged the question as to why self-injurers do not opt for healthier means toward relief. So the Harvard researchers delved further. Through additional studies they discovered that self-belief plays an interesting role in one’s willingness to endure pain. More specifically, they found that “the higher a person’s score on negative self-beliefs, the longer they were willing or able to endure pain”. Thus, self-worth is a central mediating factor in self-harm, wherein the experience of pain might validate negative self-beliefs such as being bad or damaged.
The go-to treatment for self-harm has most often been dialectical behavioral treatment (DBT) because of its effectiveness in treating borderline personality disorder, a disorder that is often marked by self-injury. However, these new findings not only broaden our understanding of self-harm but also indicate potentially new treatment target s. For instance, novel behavioral interventions are underway that seek to counter-condition self-injurers’ association of pain with relief. In addition, studies are also being conducted that use cognitive-based interventions to target and enhance beliefs regarding self-worth. One study asked participants to identify and elaborate on a positive characteristic of theirs, while a pain endurance test was conducted before and after this intervention. These studies are showing promising results in alternative and adjunctive treatment strategies for self-harm.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/07-08/self-injury.aspx