Break the silence during Self-Injury Awareness Month

In March, the observance of Self-Injury Awareness Month offers compassion and understanding to the reality of nonsuicidal self-harm. By breaking the silence and challenging stigmas, open conversations can encourage those struggling with mental health issues to reach out for help.

Kristie Lemmon founded the DBT Network of Utah (9289 S. Redwood Road), using Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help people manage strong emotions. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner with more than 25 years of experience working with clients, Lemmon is dedicated to creating a more empathetic world so those suffering can find a path to healing. 

“They self-harm because they’re in pain and it’s a way that they manage their pain,” she said. “They don’t have the skills to manage the emotional pain that they’re feeling and oftentimes they’ll do that because it helps to manage the pain physiologically. Dialectical behavior therapy is effective in helping to reduce self-injury in adults and in adolescents. We see it as a symptom of the problem, not the problem.”

Lemmon said the biggest misconception about self-injury is that it’s an attention-seeking tool. For some people who hurt themselves deliberately, it can offer temporary relief from mental agony. Others might use the practice as punishment for themselves or to prove they can tolerate physical pain.

Nonsuicidal self-injury includes cutting, burning, hitting, scratching or rubbing that leaves tissue damage to the body. It can be hard to diagnose because the person engaging in self-harm often keeps it a secret from those around them. 

Prolonged self-injury can lead to disfigurement, scarring, infection and a mental health decline. While nonsuicidal self-harm isn’t intended to die by suicide, the risk of suicide increases with long-term self-injury. 

“Our goal is to figure out the reason why, see where the skill’s deficit is and to help clients learn better skills to manage the stress and manage emotions and to communicate more effectively their pain,” Lemmon said. “They just don’t know another way to cope and it can become almost addictive in nature because of the cycle of the endorphins that get released when they self-harm.”

Treatment at the DBT Network of Utah consists of individual therapy and skills classes as people learn to manage distress in ways that do not incur bodily harm. Lemmon encourages family members not to shame their loved ones inflicting self-harm and not to be judgmental about it. 

By getting people into therapy, healing can begin. Learning new behaviors, identifying triggers and building safe and trusted relationships can bring a focus on the self-harm’s root cause. While self-injury is typically seen in adults and teens, Lemmon is beginning to see patients in elementary school. 

“Treatment is possible, and [self-harm] is something that people can stop doing,” she said. “I think sometimes people feel like they’re in a really vicious cycle with it and they start to feel hopeless, but it’s not hopeless.”

NeuroHealth in South Jordan (10437 S. Temple Drive, Suite 200) offers a different type of treatment to help those struggling with mental health issues. Clinic Manager Sophia Martial said coordinators at NeuroHealth are available to discuss options and treatments provided including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

“Self-harm is often used as a coping mechanism to try and alleviate feelings of depression and anxiety,” Martial said. “Struggling with self-harm can be an extremely isolating experience. If you are struggling with self-injury, you are not alone and there are people available to help you. Reach out to trusted family and friends for support.”

Visit DBTNetwork of Utah.net or NeuroHealthUtah.com for more information about treatment for self-injury.