Hurting from the Outside In: The Rise of Self-harming
Ask any teacher or adolescent counselor what the most
disturbing trend they are seeing in teens today is, and they are
likely to tell you it's the growing number of "cutters". By
cutters, they mean people who hurt themselves or "self-injure" a
term that is more encompassing of the many types of behaviors
that are actually involved. Whatever the form of self-injury,
cutting, burning, biting or any of many other similar behaviors,
teens hurting themselves in an attempt to deal with emotional
pain is on the rise.
Today it is thought that 1% of youth in America are engaging in
self-harming behavior. And, while both males and females are
self-harming, girls are four times more likely to self-harm than
boys. This behavior, which has been around forever, but was
noted only rarely in the past, is running through peer-groups
like a infectious disease; striking fear into the hearts of many
parents. Parents often do not know what to make the behavior in
their children
What causes a person to engage in self-harm is as varied as the
number of people hurting themselves. One cutter that may express
the sentiments of many put it this way,