Selvskade er, når en person skader sin krop med vilje. Det er normalt ikke et forsøg på at begå selvmord, men en måde at udtrykke dybe følelser, som for eksempel lavt selvværd. Selvom de fysiske virkninger af selvskade ofte kan behandles let, kræver den underliggende årsag til adfærden yderligere opmærksomhed.
Selvskadende adfærd indebærer almindeligvis forgiftning med medicin eller skade på sig selv ved at skære (cutting). Der kan være mange grunde til at en person udfører selvskade, for eksempel kan det være for at fjerne en bestemt følelsesmæssig tilstand eller en overvældende situation.
Rapport: Udkast til behandlingsguideline om Selvskade og Cutting
Self-harm epidemic
A new study suggests that one in 12 British children deliberately hurt themselves – the highest rate in Europe.
The most comprehensive report into the issue, to be published tomorrow, will say that there are likely to be around two children in every classroom who self-harm. ‘We have the highest rate of self-harm in Europe, but the universal misunderstanding about self-harm is so overwhelming that numbers will rise even further unless we act immediately,’ said Catherine McLoughlin, chairwoman of the first ever national inquiry into self-harm among young people. She said that some reports suggested up to one in five adolescents were ‘engaging in this self-destructive behaviour’, a subject that was surrounded in ‘guilt and secrecy’.
Source: The observer, BBC, Mental Health Foundation
