Summary
Intentional self-harm, often in the form of cutting one's self, is generally associated with emotional or mental distress, especially when observed among teens. When in pain, the human body releases calming endorphins, leading some to injure themselves to experience the endorphin euphoria. Self-harm is associated with mental health disorders such as borderline personality disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. And while those who engage in self-harm may not intend themselves any serious physical injury, such risky behavior can result in death. Cutting and Self-Harm discusses the most common types of self-injurious behavior, what they mean, how they can be treated, and how they can be prevented.
Chapters include:
- What Is Self-Harm?
- Who Engages In Self-Harm?
- Self-Harm and Mental Illness
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Self-Harm
- Prevention of Self-Harm
About the Author(s)
M. Foster Olive received his BA from the University of California, San Diego and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles about mental illness and substance abuse, and several other books in the Psychological Disorders series. He was previously a faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina, and is currently professor of psychology and director of the Addiction Neuroscience Laboratory at Arizona State University.
Foreword author Pat Levitt, Ph.D., is the director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development.