Troubled Teens Resources

When something becomes commonplace, does it all of a sudden become harmless? It is amazing how often you will read that phrase “it’s become common” - about teen drug abuse, drinking, and sex. And it is said as if to say, “Oh well, cats out of the bag now. Nothing we can do.”

And perhaps that is why there will always be a need for schools for troubled teens. As long as parents and teachers and the culture see the outrageous as common, and therefore acceptable, self-destructive behavior will continue to escalate, in all of it’s many manifestations.

Sorry to rant but this article on self-mutilation has, seemingly, the same attitude.

“The self-injury club for teens is not all that exclusive. Joining can almost seem trendy.

“There’s an incredible amount of kids who deal with these issues,” says a 16-year-old high school junior who knows all about membership.

“Cutting is definitely the most popular. I did some of that, but that wasn’t my preference,” she explains. Instead, she usually engaged in bruising herself, sometimes banging her wrist against hard objects. Or, she scraped herself. She says she no longer hurts herself.
[…]
Exactly how much self-injury has increased is not known, but most researchers believe it has grown, along with a kind of acceptance.

“It does seem like it’s something that people don’t frown on quite as much,” says Lloyd-Richardson. Since her report was published, she has heard from many young adults who said cutting was common in their high schools.”
(source)

Schools for troubled teens that deal with emotionally abused teen girls are very familiar with the phenomenon of self-mutilation or “cutting”. Often it is the only way extremely troubled teens can deal with overwhelming emotions but it is extremely frightening for parents who can not comprehend why their child would choose to harm themselves.

“Self-injury is not really about inflicting physical pain as much as it is about escape from emotional pain. The emotional pain and physical tension of an unhappy adolescent can be relentless. By causing physical pain, an adolescent can reduce the level of emotional and physiological distress to a bearable level. Minor physical pain, such as pulling their hair, provides a distraction from their feelings. This can progress to scratching, picking at sores, cutting or burning.”

Self-cutting could be a cry for help,a symbol of emotional trauma too big for the teen to comprehend or articulate. Some reports associate sexual abuse with a teen’s need to cut themselves.

“Adolescents who self-injure usually have underlying problems. There is a strong relationship between self-harm and sexual abuse before 13 years of age.”

In some instance, self-injury indicates that the teen feels an overwhelming desire to punish themselves for their perceived failures.

“Those who are sensitive and insecure may come to believe they are failures. Self-injury is reinforced when an adolescent believes they should be punished and their self-injury results in emotional relief. An adolescent may punish him- or herself for many reasons.”

(Source)

Keisha’s back was pressed flat against the wall, her knees drawn up tight to her chest, almost as if she were trying to penetrate the grey concrete block with her entire body. Her face was tense and her eyes seemingly focused on something faraway, visible only to her. Occasionally a strangely self-satisfied grimace would flit across her otherwise blank expression.

During her regular rounds, the on duty officer stopped to observe the troubled teenager, standing back a bit from the cell’s small service window to study the young prisoner. In time, the girl uncoiled her tense body and standing up, shook herself as if coming out of a trance.  A small safety pen fell from her hand.

Just as the officer suspected, the girl was hurting herself. In lieu of a blade or sharp edge, she had resorted to digging the contraband safety pen into the back of her arms, forming an irregular, angry red circle of tiny pricks.

Keisha is one of millions of at-risk teenagers worldwide who have become obsessed with “self-injury”, also known as cutting. But even when a sharp object isn’t available, any instrument that promises pain will do.

Self-injury is described as a coping mechanism, an extremely unhealthy method of drowning out the troubled teenager’s mental anguish and emotional pain. It is an activity that requires parental intervention as soon as it is discovered. It portends of a crisis that is fast approaching the teenager, often indicative of sexual abuse, emphatically indicative of deep inner turmoil.

“Cutting is a powerful and extreme act, with a huge amount of gratification about it - the sheer, physical, tactile, even sensuous delight of it. It’s not a death-inducing act. There’s a kick to it, a thrill. It makes people feel alive.’ At this extreme end, he says, cutters have very often been sexually abused and are now abusing themselves. They always need help.”
(source)

Teens Health offers a thorough piece to help the cutting teenager resist the compulsion to self-injure. An excerpt follows and you will find additional methods of intervention at the same site.

Here are some things you can try while waiting for a cutting urge to pass:

• call a friend and talk about something completely different
• take a shower (make sure you don’t have razors in the shower)
• go for a walk or run, take a bike ride, dance like crazy, or get some other form of exercise
• play with a pet
• watch TV (change the channel if the show gets upsetting or features cutting)
• drink a glass of water
• play with a pet
• take a shower (make sure you don’t have razors in the shower)
• take a bath (make sure you don’t have razors near the tub)
• listen to soothing music that will shift your mood
• try a breathing exercise
• try some relaxing yoga exercises
• draw or scribble designs on paper using a red pen or paint on white paper — if it helps, make the paint drip
• write out your hurt, anger, or pain using a pen and paper
• draw the pain
• compose songs or poetry to express what you’re feeling
• listen to music that talks about how you feel

(source)