Why do teenagers cut themselves with blades? Self-harm - why do teenagers harm themselves?

When children reach adolescence, parents encounter a whole range of problems in their behavior. As you know, all children are different, and their differences become especially visible during this period. Some people go through this stage of growing up easier, while others have difficulties. Of course, parents are now primarily afraid that their son or daughter will be involved in some kind of criminal activity, or that he or she will become dependent on alcohol, drugs, or turn into a gambling addict. This is, of course, terrible, but, nevertheless, that’s not all.

It is not very common to talk about this phenomenon. To others, such behavior is stupid, foolish, or “a cheap way to attract attention.” Families usually try to hide this fact, regarding it as a shame and a defect in their upbringing. However, this problem is much more complex and broader than it seems at first glance.

Self-harm includes a wide range of various types harmful effects on yourself. And although, in principle, smoking can also be classified as self-harm, the term primarily refers to causing various kinds wounds and bruises. And the most important thing in this case is the absence of suicidal intentions. That is, the teenager injures himself, but does not want to kill himself.

In total, 1-4% of the population engages in self-harm. The vast majority of them are teenagers, but there are also adults. Of course, there are those who harm themselves in some way only once in their entire lives. However, for some people this behavior becomes habitual.

Among teenagers who practice self-harm, 13% do it more than once a week, 20% several times a month under the influence of a certain type of stress (for example, only after a quarrel with their girlfriend or boyfriend). But for some teenagers, the reason for self-harm can be anything, any situation that causes anxiety or tension.

Usually self-inflicted injuries occur for 2 main reasons. The teenager either has too many emotions that he cannot cope with and the pain from self-harm gives them an outlet. Or there are no emotions at all, he feels insensitive and inflicting a wound or bruise on himself gives him the opportunity to feel alive. Be that as it may, after inflicting pain on oneself, the teenager feels not only relief, but also euphoria. Some say that pain and flowing blood cause very pleasant experiences that interrupt those negative emotions who were tortured to the point of self-harm.

There are 3 main theories that explain why this behavior may recur:

Serotonin– some people have insufficient levels of serotonin in the brain and therefore cope less well with stressful situations. Pain causes a rise in serotonin and improves overall well-being.

Opiate– when a wound or bruise is inflicted, the brain’s anti-pain system (antinociceptive) begins to act. Opiates, produced in the brain, are our primary natural pain reliever. Thanks to them, severe pain can be dulled. In addition, these substances can cause euphoria. A person who regularly injures himself can become hooked on these effects and repeat them over and over again.

Cortisol– Cortisol is a stress hormone. In order for the body to cope with the harmful effects of the environment, this hormone must reach a certain level and involve other body systems in the “stress cascade”. Thanks to it, every link and every organ begins to work in “stress mode”, protecting us from external harm.

“Harmfulness” is not only poisons, toxins or infections, it is also psychosocial stress, which often develops in adolescents. Studies have shown that in some adolescents, after an acute reaction to stress, which is characterized by a sharp rise in cortisol, as should be normal, the level of this hormone falls below normal. On the one hand, this is an adaptation to constant stress, on the other hand, there is a situation when it is not possible to completely process stress. Bruises and cuts, which are acute stress, raise cortisol levels and can become that “kick” that helps a teenager “digest” it social problems.

External causes of self-harm can be:

1. Dysfunctional family (divorce or the situation “we will live together only for the sake of the children”)

2. Perfectionism of the teenager and his environment. If you haven't done everything perfectly, you deserve punishment and there is no forgiveness for you.

3. Influence of friends. There are situations when friends provide a model of behavior in difficult life situations.

4. Experienced sexual violence.

5. Information in the media when self-harm is presented as a solution to a problem. “The boy cut his wrists, and immediately everyone around him realized that they were wrong.”

In general, there are 3 types of self-harm:

impulsive– when a teenager hurts himself under the influence of a strong influx of emotions. This happens automatically, without thinking or even maturing the intention to do it.

Stereotypical– monotonous application, most often of bruises. This type of self-harm is often common among people with mental retardation and those who suffer from autism of varying severity.

Compulsive- occurring under the influence of obsessive thoughts.

In addition, the severity of self-harm can be:

Severe – life-threatening.

Moderate severity - requiring medical intervention and treatment.

Lungs - those that do not require medical intervention or those that require a minimal amount of assistance.

Conditions that can lead to self-harm are not always associated with poorly tolerated stress.

The most severe wounds, such as slit throats and insertion of sewing needles into veins, are inflicted on themselves by adolescents suffering from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, depersonalization disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and depression.

But even if these diseases are excluded, the teenager still needs help.

Why should a teenager need help, even if he is not mentally ill?

Some people may become addicted to this behavior, given the involvement of endogenous opiates in the process. Accordingly, self-harm can be used for pleasure.

Forming the habit of solving problems through self-injury. Needless to say, people around get scared and become more accommodating.

Formation of a behavioral scheme, which is included in all life activities and self-aggression becomes an ordinary routine.

Self-harm becomes a way to respond to stress. Those. It’s easier to hurt yourself than to solve something constructively.

Despite the fact that it may seem that the teenager is doing all this on purpose, he actually often finds it difficult to say why he cut himself or did something like that. At the moment of an attack on one’s body, consciousness may narrow and awareness of behavior may drop significantly.

In other words, if a child cannot tell his parents how he came to live this way, it is likely that he really does not know. Yes, you can say that you “finished it”, but in reality this will not always be the answer to the question.

Some teenagers commit aggressive actions towards themselves in a truly demonstrative manner. If we talk about self-cuts in such cases, they are usually thin and superficial. It is clear that the man spared himself. They are often done in prominent places, but never on the face or hands. At the same time, attention is drawn to behavior in which the teenager seeks to arouse pity and guilt in others, tries to openly manipulate, and threatens to harm himself again if others behave in a way he does not like.

There is an opinion among people that one should not pay attention to such manipulators and provocateurs. However, the teenager does this not to annoy his parents, but also because of personal problems. This means that he does not cope with his life's difficulties differently. Often, parents with such a child begin to play a game of who is stronger in will and character, and the child, in an attempt to prove that his threats are not empty, but real, causes significant harm to himself or commits involuntary suicide. Those. death is not planned as such, it just happens that way.

If this happens, it is advisable to consult the child with a psychiatrist. If someone is afraid of registering, you can contact a private doctor. This is necessary to decide whether the child has a mental illness or whether it is a disorder of adaptation or problems in his life that he cannot solve. Depending on what the doctor finds, it will be possible to decide exactly how much help will be needed.

Perhaps this will be psychotherapy, or perhaps the use of psychotropic substances will be required. Mainly in this case we're talking about about a course of antidepressants, tranquilizers or mood stabilizers (drugs that equalize mood). I myself am not a big supporter of tranquilizers, since they can also cause addiction. And, of course, pills don’t solve problems and don’t teach new skills. Need psychotherapy.

And all this will work quite poorly if the teenager does not have family support. If they look at him as a traitor and a madman who cannot be trusted. Perhaps parents themselves will need to look at themselves from the outside and take steps towards changes within the family.

Cuts are a violation of integrity skin pointed objects. If the cuts only affect the skin and fatty tissue, they will go away on their own. If muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves or blood vessels are damaged, consult a doctor. Such injuries are considered common occurrences in everyday life. They are received by adults and children. To avoid negative consequences from cuts from a knife, blade or glass, you need to know basic rules first aid.

What dangers do cuts cause?

Injuries with sharp objects: a knife, blade or glass are dangerous due to damage to arteries, nerves, and large vessels. If cuts on the hands are not treated immediately with a blade or other sharp object, dangerous microorganisms will enter the wound. Gangrene may begin or a trophic ulcer may form that cannot be healed. The infection can be life-threatening.

If the cut becomes inflamed, complications in the form of purulent leaks and phlegmon are possible. This is a condition when pus does not flow out, but remains inside and spreads into the surrounding tissues. If the temperature rises and general weakness, you should urgently call a doctor.

First aid for cuts

Anyone can be injured by a sharp object. You can also deal with a small cut yourself if you know how. What to do if you get a cut on your hand in the first minutes after getting injured? First of all, don't panic. If a person himself is afraid of the sight of blood, first aid should be provided by someone who is not afraid of it. It is as follows:

The cut is carefully examined to determine how serious the injury is.
After examination, the wound is washed well with running water. If this is not possible, you can use bottled water, which is sold at every kiosk.
To prevent the spread of infection in the wound, you should not touch it with your hands. If necessary, you can wash the cut with soap foam, which should be washed off immediately after treating the wound. Do not use laundry soap. Children's products are better suited for this purpose.

Everything described above is done very quickly, in a matter of seconds. The most important thing is to stop the bleeding, for which the arm, finger or leg is raised so that the cut is above the level of the body. The cut area should be compressed with your fingers wrapped in a bandage or a clean cloth. After a few minutes the bleeding should stop if the cut is shallow.
If an artery is damaged, which can be determined by a stream of bright scarlet blood, you need to apply a tourniquet above the wound. And if the bleeding is venous - lower. flows calmly, no stream, and has dark color. When the blood circulation in the arm stops. Therefore, in order to prevent limb necrosis, you should immediately consult a doctor.
After all measures have been taken to stop the bleeding, the cut should be disinfected. To do this, treat it with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. But if the wound is deep, the solution should not get inside, since small vessels can become clogged with air. The area around the wound is treated with alcohol solutions. Iodine or brilliant green is suitable for this.
The last thing you need to do when providing first aid, if you get a cut on your hand with a knife or other sharp object, is to apply a sterile bandage or just a clean handkerchief to the wound, constantly wetting the bandage with disinfecting aqueous solutions. This is necessary so that the bandage always remains wet and does not stick to the wound.

ARGOSULFAN ® cream promotes the healing of abrasions and small wounds. The combination of the antibacterial component silver sulfathiazole and silver ions helps provide wide range antibacterial action of the cream. The drug can be applied not only to wounds located on open areas of the body, but also under bandages. The product has not only a wound healing, but also an antimicrobial effect, and in addition, promotes wound healing without a rough scar.

There are contraindications. You need to read the instructions or consult a specialist.

If more than ten minutes have passed after first aid and there are no positive results, that is, the bleeding does not stop, you need to call an ambulance.

Glass injuries

Most often, a person can get cuts from glass at home or at enterprises associated with its production. Glass is a very fragile and brittle material that breaks frequently. The slightest carelessness leads to injury.

Cuts on the hands and other parts of the body caused by glass have their own characteristics. They are incised bleeding wounds. Their edges are smooth and even, so they do not soften or crush the fabric. This is more conducive to healing than lacerations.

Cuts occur most often on the arms and hands. As a rule, their back surface is damaged. The most dangerous injuries are caused by hot glass. It has the property of quickly cooling and disintegrating in the skin and muscle tissue into many small fragments that are not visible even on an x-ray. Such fragments are difficult to remove, and migrating in tissues, they cause pain, new damage and bleeding. Sometimes fragments remain in tissues for years. A hot glass injury can be aggravated by a thermal burn.

What should you do if you get cuts from glass?

Clean the wound, that is, wash it with a 70% alcohol solution or chlorhexidine.
Apply local anesthesia by applying primary sutures.
For shallow injuries, Michel brackets are used. The victim does not require surgical assistance. It is enough to apply an aseptic bandage to the wound after washing the wound.
If cuts on the hands are accompanied by burns, the wound does not need to be sutured. You should treat it and apply a bandage lubricated with ointment.
If glass shards are found in the fabric, visible to the eye, you need to take them out and further treatment consult a doctor.

When cut, the man lost consciousness. What to do?

Sometimes even small cuts can cause a person to faint. To prevent this, you need to:

Ensure influx fresh air if the victim is indoors. To do this, you need to open the windows and doors, but exclude drafts.
Take deep breaths several times.
Massage your earlobes and upper lip.
Rub your cheeks vigorously.
If this does not help, you should wet a cotton swab with ammonia and let the victim smell it.

Knife and blade cuts

Most often, a person gets a cut on his hand with a knife, since he uses this cutting object constantly: at work or at home. Carelessness leads to injury. There are cases where knife wounds are intentionally inflicted. This happens during a fight or robbery against a person. No less rare are cuts on the hands with a blade while shaving or creative work associated with its use. There are different cuts. It depends on what they were applied with.

Injuries inflicted by a sharp object - a knife, blade, glass - are characterized by cut wounds.
If the injury is caused by a blunt object, the cut will have jagged edges. Such wounds most often occur on the hands and fingers.
If you simultaneously apply a traumatic object to an arm, leg, or any other part of the body with blunt and sharp objects, the wound will be of a combined nature.
A sharp and thin object: an awl leaves a puncture wound.

for cuts

During an injury, a vein in the arm may be cut. This is easily determined even visually. The blood from the wound flows calmly, without pulsating, and is dark in color. In this case, the person loses a lot of blood. A particular danger is that air is sucked into the vessels and can enter the heart. If this happens, death occurs.

In order to stop bleeding from the vein, a pressure bandage is applied. The wound is covered with clean gauze and pressed on top with an unrolled bandage. If you don’t have it at hand, you can fold a handkerchief or a clean cloth several times. Then the applied products should be pressed onto the wound. The bleeding must stop. If there is nothing at hand, then the cut vein on the arm or leg is immediately pressed with the fingers, and the limbs are raised up.

In what cases should you see a doctor for cuts?

If the cut is deep and its length is more than two centimeters.
When it is impossible to quickly stop the bleeding.
If, when providing first aid, it was not possible to remove fragments of foreign objects from the wound.
When cuts on the hands or other parts of the body are caused by a contaminated object. This could be a shovel or a rake.
If the victim is a child or an elderly person.
When, on the second day after the injury, the skin around the cut acquires an atypical color, pus oozes from the wound and the injury site becomes numb.
If there is an increase in body temperature and general weakness.
When a week after the injury

The victim must tell the doctor what steps were taken to provide first aid and how the wound was treated. Then the specialist will decide how to treat the cut.

Consequences

Cuts on the hands (photo above) can result in irreversible consequences if they are inflicted on the wrist area. In this case, the nerves and tendons are damaged.
Often, during an injury, the victim gets his hands. What to do? Contact your doctor immediately. The point is that treatment deep wounds is carried out by applying sutures immediately after the injury. If this is not done eight hours after the cut, the wound cannot be sutured at all in the future, as bacteria will have time to get into it. When the wound is closed, they can cause suppuration.
If cuts on the hands are accompanied by heavy bleeding with bright scarlet blood, then the artery is damaged.
Remember, even a minor cut, especially on the face, leaves a scar.

If the fragments are not removed from the wound foreign body, it becomes inflamed and pus may ooze from it.
To prevent a serious cut injury from causing complications, you should be vaccinated against tetanus.

My life in psychology, psychotherapy, and training began with working with teenagers. What we didn’t do... Communication groups, sex education groups, “say goodbye to drugs,” a club for teenagers, where we went hiking, played ChGK, organized quest games, a school for young journalists. At some point, Sivka was taken on steep hills and I switched to the calmer adult group. Well, yes, that’s what it seemed to me at first))) I worked with parents for many years, and to this day moms and dads often turn to me for advice. Mostly mothers. And lately I’ve been thinking more and more about returning to working with teenagers too. For one simple reason - there are so few good soul therapists for teenagers. And the children enter adolescence earlier and they have more problems, not less, because our world is changing faster and faster. I see them, confused, lonely, self-conscious of their growing bodies and hiding behind their long bangs that typical teenage, no-one-loves-me-and-I-don’t-much-myself expression. I feel terrible for them - after all, we all had to go through this hell called youth.

But now I’m talking more about my parents. Sometimes they just want information about what is going on with the child. Over the past two months, three mothers have contacted me, frightened by cuts on their children’s hands, so I decided to write more about it.

If you rummage through the forums and blogs of teenagers, self-harm (as it is scientifically called) does not come up very rarely. More often these are small multiple cuts, sometimes burns, on areas of the body covered by clothing - on the arms, on the thighs, on the stomach. It does not look very attractive and loved ones, as a rule, are horrified when they find traces of cuts. There are many myths about self-harm:

Myth 1: This is how they try to attract attention.

The sad truth is that people usually hide traces of self-harm and do not try to manipulate loved ones in this way. They are embarrassed by their scars and are afraid that someone will find them, this is one of the reasons why it is difficult for them to seek help.

Myth 2: These are psychos, they are dangerous.

Most often these people suffer from heartache, serious problems or experienced trauma like millions of other people. Self-harm is their way of dealing with pain. They are no crazier than most of those around them and labeling them as psychos only makes the situation worse.

Myth 3: These are suicide attempts

No. People who cut or burn themselves are not trying to die. They are trying to overcome mental pain. “Cut this emptiness,” as one patient said. In fact, these cuts are sometimes what allow them to live. Although in the long term the risk of suicide in these people is higher than average, it is not because of cutting, of course, but because of long-term depression.

Myth 4: If the cuts are not serious, then it’s okay

Just because the cuts are superficial doesn't mean the pain isn't deep. Please do not think that there is nothing to worry about - “it will go away on its own.” This is a symptom of serious mental problems that must be dealt with.

Those who cut their hands and do other harm say that this action brings pain relief and peace. The ritual itself - locking the door, breaking a razor or other blade, bandage, hiding it under the sleeve - replaces the strong, overwhelming feeling, which owns a person and helps to cope with him.

In addition or in addition to this, self-harm serves to “wake up” and restore contact with reality. Just as we sometimes want to pinch ourselves to make sure that this is not a dream, so a cut, burn or other injury restores or enhances the sense of reality. Patients often talk about how cutting helps them return from a state of “frozenness,” depression, the unreality of this world and helps them escape from the feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness.

Who are they?

Many researchers have tried to determine what traits people have that are prone to self-harm. There is nothing surprising here, everything is quite logical. Low self-esteem, lack of flexible adaptation skills, high sensitivity to rejection, increased anxiety, tendency to suppress anger, etc. The majority of those suffering from this syndrome are teenage girls and young women, usually well educated and with highly developed intelligence.

There are several approaches to explain the origin of this syndrome.

Biological: cutting and other self-harm actually relieves mental suffering, unbearable tension and pain, brings calmness by releasing endorphins (natural drug-like substances produced in our body), so when repeated these ritual actions Not only psychological, but also partially physical dependence arises.

Psychological: Among the women who cut and burn themselves, many are those who were abused as children and experienced trauma, often sexual. There are theories linking violence and self-harm. Violence usually leaves the victim feeling helpless and lacking control over what is happening. While self-mutilation is also violence, at the same time there is a certain feeling of control over the situation, since the person does it himself. Some victims sexual violence this can create a feeling of protection from assaults as they become unattractive and “unfit” for the abuser.

There is also psychological theory that cutting is a symbol of self-punishment for some “sins”, internal anger or a feeling of “dirty”. This may be an unconscious desire to redirect anger from an external source onto oneself, a way of expressing aggression, sexual instincts, or any other strong repressed feelings. Sometimes “punishment” follows incontinence in eating; cutting is associated with eating disorders. A girl is trying to lose weight once again raids the refrigerator and takes “revenge” on himself by cutting his hand. Or he tries to restrain himself from a bout of gluttony with the pain of a cut.

Sometimes this can be one of the manifestations of borderline personality type. Such people suffer from a very strong fear that their loved ones will abandon them, abandon them, and cannot cope with enormous emotions in any other way. In this case, cuts may just be part of the manipulations with which a person tries to tie loved ones to himself and attract attention. Although, most likely, this manipulation is unconscious.

Self-harm means something different to each person, but very often it is the inability to express feelings in another way. For some reason, these people (most often girls and young women) did not learn or were unable to express their emotions because they were not heard. Cuts serve as a kind of language for them, with which they try to speak out, express their pain, and enter into dialogue with people who are significant to them.

What to do about it?

“Cutting your hands does not mean solving the problem”, “You are only making it worse for yourself”, “It will become a habit”, “In 10-15 years you will suffer because of these ugly scars”, “If I see you at least one more cut..."

These or similar phrases are heard by each of those whose scars are discovered by loved ones. Not that it helps. After all, the problem is not the cuts, they are only a symptom. Trying to stop cutting without understanding the roots of the problem is doomed to failure. At the same time, it is completely natural that loved ones, and especially parents, experience fear, shock and even disgust when they discover cuts on the hands of a teenager, friend, or girlfriend (see myths). Therefore, first you need to cope with your feelings and calm down.

After this, it makes sense to carefully find out what is happening. Talking about this topic will not be easy, but hiding your suspicions and fears is even worse. This is a dead end. Be prepared for the fact that the person will not want to immediately talk about what is happening. That is, simply put, you will be sent away in one form or another. There is no need to pin anyone against the wall, but be sure to say that you noticed the cuts, you are worried and it is important for you to know what is happening to him. You are ready to wait until your friend or loved one is ready to talk, but you definitely need to talk. It’s definitely not worth condemning and criticizing, it will only get worse. There is enough shame and guilt for those who struggle with mental pain in this way.

There is no need for any ultimatums, threats or punishments. One of my patients, a young woman, said that her boyfriend posed the question bluntly: “Either you stop cutting your hands, or I’m leaving you.” Needless to say, this didn't help? It is much more important to offer a person the opportunity to turn to you at any moment when he experiences the very pain, fear, tension that makes him grab the blade.

When talking, focus on the feelings that lead the person to cut themselves, rather than on the actions themselves. Think together about how you can help. Will it be easier for him if he just speaks out, or does he need specific advice? Self-harm is often typical of teenagers and young people who find it difficult to communicate, much less talk about such intimate things. It might be easier to write. The epistolary genre is experiencing an electronic renaissance and this should not be underestimated. Sometimes what is difficult to say can be formulated in a letter - no one rushes you, interrupts you, or interferes with your choice of words. Suggest this type of conversation or ask it by writing first.

If the ice has already broken and you are talking about this topic more or less openly, try to find out more specifically what makes a person cut himself. What are these feelings and what is their reason? Encourage him to think about it himself. Finding out the cause is the first step to liberation, because, knowing what is wrong, you can try various techniques, which can alleviate the situation and prevent self-harm.

Here are some “home remedies” to cope with the situation. They often turn out to be effective.

If a person cuts themselves to express severe pain or intense feelings, you can:

Draw, draw, scribble on large sheet paper with red ink, paint or markers
Write about your feelings in a diary. At the same time, it’s better on paper and it doesn’t matter what. Let it be one hundred and thirty-seven times “I don’t know what to do, I’m mad, I hate, I’m scared...” Whatever.
Write poetry or a song about what is happening to you. Or draw a picture. Depends on what you are inclined towards.
Write down what you feel on paper, and then tear it into shreds and burn it.
Listen to music that expresses your feelings. Actually, the emo subculture is largely built on this, among which self-harm is very common.

If a person is trying to calm down and relieve anxiety, you can

Take a bath or warm shower
Play or walk with your pets. In general, in such a situation, you should think about getting a cat or dog, if, of course, you want to. Communication with animals helps a lot.
Wrap yourself up in something warm and cozy
Massage your neck, arms, legs and feet.
Listen to calm music

If a person feels emptiness, loneliness, “frozenness”, isolation from the world:

If cutting serves to release anger or relieve tension, you can:

Do some exercise - run, jump rope, dance or hit a special bag or punching bag.
You can also beat a pillow, you can bite it and scream with all your might.
Inflate and pop balloons
Tear paper or magazines
Organize a concert " percussion instruments“, using available means in the form of pans or other “drums”.

Ubiquitous British scientists advise trying the following as “replacement therapy”:

Use a red pen or felt-tip pen to draw stripes where cuts are usually made.
Apply an ice cube several times to areas where cuts are usually made.
Wear a rubber bracelet on your wrist that you can twist instead of cutting yourself.

Home remedies do not always help, and if you see that the situation is not improving, it is best, of course, to consult a specialist - a psychologist or psychotherapist. I know that many are afraid that such a person will be labeled as a “psycho,” especially when it comes to cutting (again, see the myths). But professionals are familiar with this problem and know that in most cases there is no smell of psychiatry here. Self-harm is an effective mechanism for coping with mental pain and emotional difficulties, developed and internalized by this person. In order to replace it with something healthier, you need long-term painstaking work to identify the causes and patiently build mental “muscles” that can withstand stress without such extreme actions.

Psychotherapy carefully reveals the deep personal meaning of the act of self-harm for a particular person and, at the same time, helps to develop skills of resilience and self-control. Most therapists do not require immediate cessation of cutting as a condition of therapy, but most often set certain boundaries. Thus, some types of therapy require the client to call the therapist any time he feels the urge to cut himself. Often talking to a therapist is enough to prevent this. If the client does cut themselves, they cannot contact the therapist for 24 hours afterwards.

Psychotherapy in this case (as in others, however) largely teaches a person to get in touch with his feelings, understand what is happening to him now, how to react to it and how to cope with it. In general, psychotherapy is about learning and about growing those parts of the mental organism that for some reason have not grown naturally. And growing anything is not a quick process. And failures happen, and relapses. So there is no need to be scared and even more so to despair.

As always, I have for you good news. Sometimes cuts on the hands are a kind of “growing pain” that goes away on its own. Therefore, there is no need to panic right away. And not right away either. Talk, love, observe and be patient. Remember the main thing - it is always a person’s lack of contact with the outside world. Therefore, the most important thing is to nurture and cherish this contact.

The first thing that psychologists tell worried moms and dads in this case is: don’t panic! Cuts on the hands do not indicate anything irreparable. The psychologist reassures: cuts on the hands (as well as on other parts of the body) are not evidence that the teenager is thinking about suicide.

Cuts on hands - how to treat them

Like any wound, a cut should be treated. You can stick an adhesive plaster on top or wrap it with a bandage over your cut hand. For small cuts typical of teenagers, these measures will be quite enough. For deeper cuts, the incision wounds will need to be treated at the emergency room.

Why do teenagers make cuts on their hands?

The behavior of a teenager who is prone to self-harm often causes anger. He does not understand that suicide attempts frighten parents and force them to experience very difficult feelings. The lack of response to self-harm reinforces the teenager’s belief that others don’t care about him, which makes him even more lonely. Therefore, you need to react to cuts on your hands, but not with a momentary emotional reaction, but in a comprehensive manner. If your teen cuts their hands, expect that the work to overcome self-injurious behavior will be lengthy and require your involvement.

Self-scarring and mutilation can also be a sign of mental disorder or illness. I mean, could I take my own life? No matter how they blame this on a difficult age, there are definitely mental disorders and problems in communicating with loved ones and in his environment. When you then see scars on the hands of a person of this kind, you think that he is a suicide or suffered from violence.

Some say that pain and flowing blood cause very pleasant experiences that interrupt the negative emotions that tormented them before the act of self-harm. Bruises and cuts, which are acute stress, raise cortisol levels and can become that “kick” that helps a teenager “digest” his social problems. Conditions that can lead to self-harm are not always associated with poorly tolerated stress. Needless to say, people around get scared and become more accommodating. More often than not, self-harm is not demonstrative. Teenagers hide scars from self-cutting and are embarrassed to talk about them. If a teenager inflicts wounds or any other damage on himself, especially if this is not the first time, parents should pay close attention to this.

Psychologists have tried to figure out why teenagers cut themselves and where this need to self-harm comes from. Typically, teenagers hurt themselves, but they don’t want anyone to see it, especially their parents. Therefore, they cut, stab and burn those parts of the body that are easy to hide under clothing - thighs, forearms, chest. There are much fewer people who do this demonstratively to attract attention. Other cases where teenagers cut their hands and inflict other injuries involve healthy children in a state of mental confusion and loneliness.

If you notice cuts on a teenager's hands: instructions for parents

From the author: Over the past 4 days, 3 families have contacted me in which parents unexpectedly noticed cuts on the forearms of their teenage children. Three appeals on one issue in a matter of days is a lot. In each of these cases, the discovery of numerous scars on the teenagers' forearms was shocking and shocking to the parents. Causing a wound, teenagers switch from internal sensations to the feeling of rawness on the skin and they feel a little better. That is, such behavior is not nonsense, and not a whim, and not an overkill. Thank you so much for the article! I knew one mother who was initially scared when she saw cuts on her daughter’s hands.

When talking, focus on the feelings that lead the person to cut themselves, rather than on the actions themselves. If the ice has already broken and you are talking about this topic more or less openly, try to find out more specifically what makes a person cut himself. What are these feelings and what is their reason? In general, in such a situation, you should think about getting a cat or dog, if, of course, you want to. Sometimes cuts on the hands are a kind of “growing pain” that goes away on its own. Therefore, there is no need to panic right away. And not right away either. Talk, love, observe and be patient.

In principle, I don’t believe that this is serious, well, I scratched the skin on my hand. What if not? Lately I went away to study, they caught me cheating, something was going on. Or my friends told me that cutting with a blade doesn’t hurt at all, so I cut it on my hand, though it didn’t hurt at all. Spend a little more time with her, tell her something about yourself in your youth, buy her something nice for the soul. And, most likely, she fell in love with you...

Psychological characteristics of adolescents and why cuts appear

Very often, one of the forms of self-expression is deliberate damage to the body, namely cutting with blades. On the hands of many teenagers, shallow cuts appear especially often due to the accessibility of the limb. Many of them claim that along with the bleeding, all the negativity and dark thoughts. Cuts on the hands of teenagers with a blade do not always indicate a desire to commit suicide.

I belong to the small group of “mothers who don’t care.” The child studies, and that’s okay. There is already a gold medal in the house, hanging and gathering dust in a visible place. You still can’t put your brain into your daughters’ heads, so you have to make do with the factory equipment. With its help it is very easy to fold (as if packaged in a store): shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts, nightgowns. Who gives up everything and goes, even if they don’t want to? Those who have a “headache” can also write.

One option is to constantly use bandages. Having bandaged your hand, you can always lie about true reasons bandages, because bandages are also used for bruises. In order to disguise and cover up scars in adulthood, people often use tattoos and large pictures.

Healing time for this hand injury

There are many reasons why a teenager might fail academically. Often difficult teenagers leave scars on their hands, what is the reason for this behavior? Auto-aggression in a teenager is often associated with attracting attention to oneself. If a teenager is not accepted among his peers, then pain and resentment can cause self-aggression. It happens that a teenager begins to be afraid of responsibility and tries to get away from unnecessary stress and anxiety; most often this manifests itself either by withdrawing into oneself or by looking for support in the company.

Possible treatments

No. People who cut or burn themselves are not trying to die. Psychological: Among women who cut and burn themselves, many are those who were abused as children and experienced trauma, often sexual. I've never heard of cases of self-harm in animals, but I'm certainly no expert. People cut themselves when they feel trapped in a “cage” (in quotes)—isolated because the experience prevents them from communicating with other people. The child cut his hands repeatedly because he considered himself “dirty” and unworthy to be in “that body.” I wanted to kind of change my skin. I was in the clinic. There was a girl who, at less than 17 years old, admitted to her parents that she loved a friend from school. The parents (especially the mother) started a terrible scandal with some fighting.

Light cuts, with minimum quantity blood do not require any special treatment methods other than conventional antibacterial treatment. To help a deep cut heal faster, you can use special ointments. If the cuts are deep enough, medical intervention may be required to stitch them up.

I developed complexes, I often thought about the opinions of others, I became a social phobe. Cuts on the hands are not a sign of any mental illness! We, teenagers in the 21st century, have come up with a way to get rid of mental pain. Parasuicide is like a drug. It's not just about the desire to cut yourself. I want to hurt myself from feeling guilty. It’s like the law of conservation of energy, the flow of mental pain into physical pain.

These are not accidental cuts - it is clear that they were made intentionally. Cuts on the hand are not always done intentionally.

The editors are not responsible for the accuracy of this information.