When teens suffer from a Teen Self-Injury Disorder, it’s common for them to experience it as a Co-Occurring Disorder. This is understandable, considering the variety of symptoms of Self-Injury Disorders can cause them to sometimes be considered to overlap the classifications of a Behavioral Addiction vs. an Impulse Control Disorder. What we often find is it depends on the teen being treated. Sometimes teens can become addicted to the release of hormones provided by the body in response to pain. This forms a behavioral addiction in which teens feel some sort of pain or stress, which causes them to crave that positive release, which then leads to them harming themselves. In other cases, the disorder might be classified instead as an Impulse Control Disorder because it’s more the act itself that somehow provides the teens with relief, and something which they lose control over their choice of whether or not to do it. Treating teens to assure these harmful behaviors stop is the first priority of Teen Self-Injury Treatment.
Because the nature of these Self-Injury Disorders can be so complex, they’re often related to other underlying levels of severe stress, anxiety, Depression, or even other mental illnesses or disorders. One of the more common Co-Occurring Disorders, especially in teenage girls, is an Eating Disorder. Because teens with Eating Disorders become fixated on their bodies and appearance, sometimes harming their bodies can become some sort of avenue for relief and another exercise from which they experience a sense of control. Beyond this, both disorders often are associated with severe feelings of guilt and shame, which can cause teens to want to “punish” themselves in some way, such as either starving or harming themselves. It’s also relatively common for Teen Self-Injury Disorders to exist with Teen Mood Disorders, such as Teen Anxiety, Teen Bi-Polar Disorder, and/or Teen Depression. Because teens often experience the symptoms of these Mental Health Disorders for a certain amount of time before being diagnosed and/or treated, they may turn to these harmful behaviors in order to find some sort of relief. Because of this, it’s important that Teen Self-Injury Treatment provides teens with a thorough evaluation, taking careful considerations of such Co-Occurring Disorders. Therefore, when treatment plans are being created, they can address the full range of issues present in the teens.
Admittedly, any kind of teen treatment, including that for Self-Injury Disorders, can be an overwhelming and difficult experience. However, the good news is that the recovery rate for teens that seek Self-Injury Treatment is very high and teens can gain this relief, from both their triggers and the behaviors, in a relatively short amount of time. And in cases where they are diagnosed as Co-Occurring Disorders, teens getting treatment for both will help provide teens with the support they need to experience a full and lasting recovery, and begin moving forward with their lives.