Depression leading to self-harm amongst students

Hey guys,

Today, I will like us to look into a problem which is becoming very common amongst students.

When we talk about self-harm we are talking about masochism. Masochist are people who enjoy pain mostly the ones they inflicted on themselves. This invariably implies that Self-harm is synonymous with masochism.

Self-harm can be described as when you're deliberately hurting your own body, such as cutting or burning, or treating your body in a harmful way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger, overwhelming situations or experiences, and frustration.

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SIGNS OF SELF-HARM

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They are so many signs you can use to know one who is self hurting and some of them include;

• Isolation and avoiding social situations:

Someone who is self hurting most times distances he's or herself from the crowd and avoids social events. Most of them give flimsy excuses not to attend or when they do they find a secluded area around the environment and hang out.

• Wearing baggy or loose clothes to conceal wounds:

I know most of us will judge me wrongly but research has shown that most times people who wear loose and baggy clothes are covering up some skeletons in their compound sometimes inflicted on them by themselves.

• Finding razors, scissors, lighters, or knives in places where they do not belong:

This is one pronounced sign to watch out for in people who self-harm. The constant presence of sharp objects around them could spell danger.

• Multiple cuts, burns, or scars on the wrist, arms, legs, hips, or stomach:

This also goes ahead to show that a lot is wrong with an individual where they are a lot of bruises on the body irrespective of the body part.

• Always making excuses for having cuts, marks, or wounds on the body:

Whenever the victim of self-harm is been caught he or she starts giving unimaginable excuses as to why he or she had such deep cut or silly bruises.

• Spending long periods locked in a bathroom or bedroom:

This is also a good venue and avenue for self-harm individuals to carry out their sorrowful acts and care should be taken when one stays longer behind closed doors alone.

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CAUSES OF SELF-HARM

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Sometimes it is difficult to recognize a body that self harms without thorough assessment and therapy. Some of the known signs are;

• Emotions pain and lack of adequate coping skills:

When one is always emotionally unstable, looks or acts like someone who lacks basic skills to cope it could lead the individual to resort to self-harm to derive pleasure and emotional stability.

• Sadness:

When an individual is always moody, looking so down and rejected. Proper care and attention should be given to the person if not it could lead to self-harm.

• Anger:

Hot-tempered individuals may decide to self-harm to keep themselves in check as they flare over every little thing.

• Abuse:

That momentary feeling of excitement one gets from alcohol and drugs could also lead them to self-harm as they always get so high that they can start to misbehave and even hit their heads on the wall by themselves.

• Others include;

Pain, Frustration, and Anxiety.

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CONSEQUENCES OF SELF-HARM

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There are a lot of negative effects associated with self-harming and they include;

• BODY DAMAGE:

Often cutting oneself can result in permanent body damage. This in turn changes the appearance of a person towards to negative side.

• LOW SELF-ESTEEM

Self-hurting always results in low Self-esteem as one tends to bear a lot of scares which one isn't proud of. This results in one often seeking to be alone thereby avoiding gatherings and various school activities.

• POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE.

One who is self-harming usually avoids associating with colleges and also avoids various schools activities. This results in one missing out on vital information and impromptu tests and attendance which in turn affects the overall academic performance of one.

• DEATH

Self-harming can also easily result in suicide. I am a witness of this as it happened to a coursemate of mine who in the process of Self-harming was reported to fracture several body parts which inflicted much pain thereby causing him to jump off his balcony.

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CONCLUSION

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Self-harm which is the act of hurting oneself is a common act found among youths especially students who tend to battle with a lot of physical, emotional, and psychological problems coupled with academic stress.

Those with the tendency to self-harm should learn to open up to friends and family as that might help prevent the gruesome act of self-harm.