INtro

There was a case study of a young girl in an Arizona institution a few years back. She
was only 16 at the time, roughly the same age as me. She claimed she had an
irresistible urge to take out her own eye. So she did. A few nights later, she removed
her other oculus.

Now that I’ve got your attention, my personal interest project is to research the
controversial topic, of the truth behind self-injury. As this is a difficult issue, I must
tread carefully. Through this assignment I want to show other people what self-injury
really is, and what it entails. There are too many misconceptions about this particular
disorder, and consequently, self-injurers are treated in my micro and wider world like
social pariahs.

Many people, in society cringe at the sound of the phrase “Self-injury”. A person
deliberately harming themselves. Who would think of doing such a thing? Our
community’s common fallacies and reactions towards this act tend to be negative,
which isn’t helpful to those who self-injure.

I have chosen this for my selected topic for a number of reasons. One of them being
that I have had a lot of people around me involved in this, and want to gain a deeper
insight into this problem. When friends were “outed” with their habits exposed, many
friends and family members reacted with hostility, fear, and negative worry.

Throughout the following pages I will be investigating the clinical definition of self
injury, the different stages of SI, as well as self-injurer’s definitions of the disorder.
What happens in the lead up to beginning on this path, what occurs during the course
of self injury, and what happens when it’s all brought into the open.

Also, to add a future cross-cultural element, I will be examining the fine line between
self injury and body modification, and how the two are closely related. The means of
investigating this will be through the distribution of surveys, interviews with tattoo
artists, and a collection of secondary research on this issue.

I have performed a total of 13 interviews, with school counsellors and psychologists,
past and present self-harmers, as well as surveying the general public on their opinions
of the disorder. Most of the interviews, as well as the survey, were conducted over the
internet, as I found this to be the best method for receiving in-depth answers, and at
the same time, granting the participants total anonymity. I also obtained an article from
a British medical journal displaying the results of a survey conducted at a large number
of schools, to determine the percentage of adolescents that self-injure. These results
will be incorporated into this assessment.

This study will be based around the concepts of Persons, Society, Culture, and
Environment. What age or gender is more likely to self-injure? Which of society’s
values and beliefs impact on the nature of self-harm? Are certain cultures accepting of
this practice? And what kind of environment “breeds” a self harmer? All these
questions and more shall be answered in this paper.