Treatment Online

Self-Harm Websites May Have Adverse Effects
> 5/1/2006 12:35:37 PM

Self-injury among young people is hardly a new phenomenon. It often serves as a responsive method of suppressing emotional turmoil, and clinicians estimate that as many as two million Americans regularly practice self-injury or mutilation. Researchers have witnessed an exponential increase in related websites, and some now voice concerns about online communities that may encourage, rather than curtail, these habits.�

A feature in today's Kansas City Star summarizes a newly published Cornell University study on the subject, stating that:

Some of the self-injury Web sites are monitored by professionals or other people who want to and can provide support to teens wishing to stop hurting themselves. Of the 3,200 postings that (lead author) Whitlock and her associates studied on self-injury Web sites, about 28 percent of the messages were supportive. Other postings, however, are much less benign. In her article, Whitlock quoted an exchange among three persons, who described in great detail how to cut oneself and increase the bleeding.

This widely misunderstood condition, whose practitioners are disproportionately females between the ages of 11 and 26, sometimes stems from a history of childhood abuse. Often times those who engage in related behaviors refrain from discussing the subject with family and friends due to feelings of guilt and shame over a habit long deemed a social taboo. These silent cries for help and emotional support, most frequently manifested in the practice of drawing one's own blood, too often go unheard. Yet, though many relevant sites offer peer support groups and conversational forums, those who suffer from self-harm should be wary of others which seek to proliferate these tendencies.

Comments
It reminds me about girls that have blogs regarding anorexia - ANA - or bulimia. they teach other how to throw up, how to spend many hours without eating, etc.parents should monitor what their children are doing on the internet, monitor their health, etc. regarding your post about sodas, i think that not selling sodas at school will solve nothing. kids eat many,many meals outside school, and the smarter ones can create a black market for sodas at school.education is the key. parents are often permissive regarding their childrens eating habits. if they taught healhty habits, monitered kid's weight, kid's pocket money, etc, things would be quite different.i will link you tonight.cheers from portugal
URL: http://lettersfromelise.blogspot.com
Posted by: Elise 5/10/2006 1:10:45 AM