The Interrelations of Self Harm and Sexual Orientation
A Research Paper Presented to
The English Resource Center
School of Multimedia and Arts
Asia Pacific College
Magallanes, Makati
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
ERESWRT-Research
Benedict Kyle S. Almadin
August 2014
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the study
Self Harming is going viral in today's society. The percentage of self harming teenagers went three times higher than the last decade. According to this article by Lorenza Bacino entitled Shock figures show extent of self-harm in English teenagers in theguardian.com, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a survey around 6,000 15+ year-olds in over 41 schools across the UK and found out that 6.9% of them had self harmed over the past year which put the figures to 20% of the teenagers appear to be self harming.
Ms. Bacino also wrote that, "young people are turning to strategies such as self-harm to manage stress in the short term" (http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/21/shock-figures-self-harm-england-teenagers). The society today is much more different than before. As much as the technological advancements makes the people's lives easier, it also kind of make the world evolve and turn into something more competitive and challenging.
Self Harming seems to become a trend in the generation of teenagers today. There are a number of self harm websites sprouting here and there. Self harm websites are are websites that are quite popular on people who self harm. They can be blogs, forums, groups or group chats. One popular self harm website is called Tumblr. One of the most controversial self harm cases that went viral over the internet was of Tallulah Wilson's. According to this article by Jemima Owen entitled The internet didn't kill Tallulah Wilson, but nor did it do much to help her also from website theguardian.com. She raised controversies to the blogging website Tumblr. Articles often described her as this beautiful, talented, and privileged young lady. Especially regarding to her exceptional gift for Ballet. According to Tallulah's mother she was addicted to tumblr. She would spend hours and hours blogging about her alter ego as a wild cocaine-snorting drinker. Her mother saw pictures of Tallulah posted on her blog wherein she pulls her hair out of rage and doing sorts of stuff to harm herself. When she discovered her blog and saw this concerning pictures she banned her from it and contacted tumblr to bring it down. Tallulah became depressed when she lost her blog along with her 18,000 followers that she claims to "like me for who I am" she then took her life on the tracks at St. Pancras Station in October 2012. This made tumblr ban and remove pages promoting self harm or posts with triggering content.
"Young people are more likely to move away from the negative seduction of these sites if they find real companionship and non-judgmental understanding. That is why it is so important to talk openly, to raise awareness in schools and at home, and to support families seeking help." (http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/25/internet-tallulah-wilson-websites-teenage-suicides). This was written by Ms. Owen in the latter part of her article and this should serve an awareness for people who does not take self harming seriously.
What people doesn't know is that a large percentage of self harming teens are mostly homosexuals. A study was made and it turns out a large percentage of self harmers are part of the LGBT community.
We need to study this to learn the interrelations of self harming and sexual orientation as to know why the LGBT community are more prone to hurting themselves.
The purpose of this paper is to learn the factors that contribute to the prevalence of self harming among the teenage homosexuals, to know the interrelations between self harming and sexual orientation.
B. Statement of the Problem
This study aims to answer the question:
1. What are the factors that contribute to the prevalence of self harm among the LGBT Youth?
C. Significance of the Study
Society- This research paper aims to inform the society about the alarming concerns about the LGBT youth. This can make people understand that the LGBT youth are not different from everybody else and deserves to be treated equally with mutual respect.
LGBT Youth- This research paper aims to benefit the LGBT Youth for them to be understood and be taken care of and to lower the statistics of them self harming and attempting suicide.
Future Researchers- This study is beneficial to future researchers for them to have sources since this topic is sensitive, crucial and not being talked about in the society.
D. Scope and Delimitation
This study will focus on the the factors that contribute the prevalence among the teenage homosexuals and how are they interrelated. It may take course but will not focus on the issues on the LGBT community i.e. homophobia, hate crimes, same sex marriage, etc...
E. Materials and Methods
The information, statistics and surveys relevant to this study are gathered from various references through online sources. The researcher used this sources to gather facts and information to inform the society of the prevalence of self harm among teenage homosexuals.
This study will provide evidence such as statistics and research among the self harm that was prevalent on the LGBT youth.
F. Definition of Terms
- Self Harming- is an act of intentional and direct injuring of ones own body tissues most often done with suicidal attempts or intentions.
- LGBT Community/Homosexual Youth- pertains to the people who belong to the LGBT community namely: Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and other sexuality that belongs to the gender spectrum.
- Heterosexual Youth- pertains to the people who are not part of the LGBT community and is attracted to a person of the opposite sex and born cishet or a person who identifies with the sex assigned to it by birth or non-transexuals.
Chapter 2
DISCUSSION
I. Statistics
There is a huge prevalence of self harming incidents among the youth. Cases of attempted suicide among the young people were seen here and there on the television, magazines or newspapers. In today's society some even romanticize it and make it a trend. What most people do not know is that in the staggering percentage of the cases of self harming youth is that most of them are either perceived to be part of the LGBT community or confused with their own sexuality.
An article by Thaddeus Baklinski entitled 52% of homosexual youth report self harming: UK study published in the website Lifesitenews.com, as the title itself says, a survey was conducted by YouthChances, a UK pro homosexual organization found out that 52% of the homosexual youth in UK are harming themselves as compared to the 12% of the heterosexual youth who did.
There is a huge prevalence of self harming incidents among the youth. Cases of attempted suicide among the young people were seen here and there on the television, magazines or newspapers. In today's society some even romanticize it and make it a trend. What most people do not know is that in the staggering percentage of the cases of self harming youth is that most of them are either perceived to be part of the LGBT community or confused with their own sexuality.
An article by Thaddeus Baklinski entitled 52% of homosexual youth report self harming: UK study published in the website Lifesitenews.com, as the title itself says, a survey was conducted by YouthChances, a UK pro homosexual organization found out that 52% of the homosexual youth in UK are harming themselves as compared to the 12% of the heterosexual youth who did.
The survey was led and funded by the homosexual advocacy group called Metro, the "YouthChances" survey was described by the organizers as the "England's largest social study into the lives of young LGBT people. They surveyed seven thousand individuals within the age group of 16-25 year olds, and mostly consisted of homosexuals, bisexuals and/or transgender.
The survey also found out that 42% of the youth who are part of the LGBT community sought medical help for depression and anxiety as compared to the 29% of the heterosexuals who did.
It also found out that 44% of the homosexual youth reported having thoughts and has considered committing suicide. This compares to the 21% rate of heterosexuals and non-transexual who are suicidal.
“We should all be deeply concerned about the crisis in LGBTQ young people’s mental health and well being that Youth Chances has uncovered, we can and must act on to ensure that LGBTQ young people are afforded the same life chances as their peers." said Metro's acting CEO Dr Greg Ussher. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/52-of-homosexual-youth-in-large-study-report-self-harming-uk-study)
II. Factors
As the researcher have read so many articles about self harming, one thing he observed is that self harming is mostly exclusive to teenagers. It was even stereotyped as some kind of a "phase" every teenagers go through but of course it is obviously not. It is a mental illness that was either caused by various factors on the environment or something scientific. The researcher also knew that a large percentage of these teenagers happen to be a part of the LGBT community but what are the factors that causes the prevalence of self harming on the homosexual youth?
A lot of evidence and statistics proves that self harm is more common within the LGBT youth. An article by by Tracy Alderman entitled The Relationship Between Self-Injury and Sexual Orientation from the website Psychologytoday.com explained the 3 major factors that relates self harming and sexual orientation. First, self harm begins in adolescence, also the time when sexuality or sexual orientation are being explored. Particularly those who haven't come out or unsure of their sexuality are more susceptible to self harming because they struggle to fit in and they hide their sexual orientation. The second factor is, given the first factor, they are more likely to be subjected to bullying, lower self-esteem and various types of emotional and mental abuse that may lead to harming themselves. The secrecy, isolation and inability to interact or communicate to others are also considered to be associated to self harming. The last factor is the negative body image. A number of self harmers have said that they hate their bodies. Similar to those in the LGBT community, that made a factor for the teenagers to injure themselves.
However, there are a number of factors that can be said to be related between self harming and sexual orientation those are the only 3 major relations.
On the latter part of the article Ms. Alderman wrote this statement,"What is the relationship between self-injury and sexual orientation? The answer is not so clear. Certainly, being LGBT does not mean that one is going to self-injure, nor does being a self-injurer mean that someone is LGBT. However, it does appear that there may be good reason for the anecdotal evidence that there may be a higher proportion of self-injurers within the LGBT community. Shame, secrecy, isolation, feeling different, poor body image, low self-esteem, abuse history, poor support system, and limited coping outlets are all possible factors associated with being a member of the LGBT community. These same factors have also been shown to be linked with self-injury." (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scarred-soul/200911/the-relationship-between-self-injury-and-sexual-orientation).
A. Adolescence
Aside from the physical changes and other biological phenomenon that happens to a teenager's body during puberty, there is also the developmental factor that goes through their body and mind about figuring out and exploring their sexual orientation.
The significance of adolescence being an interrelated factor between self harming and sexual orientation is kind of strong. Puberty is a period where your body matures from childhood to adulthood. It is when hormones are at work. For boys the hormones on their body called testosterone makes their voices deeper and make them taller. For girls the hormones on their body called estrogen makes their breasts bigger and adding curves to their torsos. Both of them also grow body hairs on their pubic areas and underarms. It is also the time where teenagers are starting to figure out their sexuality. It is the age of curiosity and experimentation.
According to the article of J.L. Cook on the website education.com entitled The Development of Sexual Orientation most children begin experiencing feelings of sexual attraction during late childhood or early adolescence. They begin to develop their own sexual orientation whether it is a homosexual orientation (attracted to the same sex), heterosexual orientation (attracted to the opposite sex) or bisexual orientation (attracted to both sexes).
Differences between homosexual and heterosexual individuals are even seen since childhood. The development of homosexual identity has 4 stages. Stage 1: Sensitization, this stage occurs before puberty wherein a child has a feeling of being different from his or her same sex peers. Stage 2: Identity Confusion, usually experienced during adolescence, this stage involves conflict the teenagers self image and his her feelings of same sex arousal. Stage 3: Identity Assumption, this stage begins during early twenties wherein a person defines and accepts himself as a homosexual and associates with fellow homosexuals. Stage 4: Commitment, this stage begins when a person enters a same sex relationship and adopts homosexuality as a lifestyle and a satisfying self identity.
"One study of young men who described themselves as homosexual or bisexual found that these men recalled experiencing feelings of same-sex attraction by the age of 10 and had their first homosexual experiences at around 14 (Savin-Williams, 1995)" (http://www.education.com/reference/article/development-sexual-orientation/)
Due to these circumstances the LGBT youth feel disoriented for we are living in a world where homosexuality is not yet accepted as a norm. It has it's stereotypes and negative image and is regarded as something "not normal" even with the evidence of scientific studies and analysis.
B. Bullying and Low Self Esteem
Bullying is the act of using of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively impose domination over others. It consists of four basic types of abuse – emotional , verbal, physical, and cyber. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. Homosexuals being in the minority group often becomes the target of bullies. Sometimes bullying even comes to an extent that it affects not only the physical but also the mental and emotional health of the victim. Verbal bullying is the most common way of bullying and children often use the word "gay" as an insult.
According to this article by Jane Riese entitle Youth Who Are Bullied Based upon Perceptions About Their Sexual Orientation on violencepreventionworks.org as many as 93% of the teenagers are being subjected to hearing derogatory words about sexual orientation once in a while and more than half of the teens hear them everyday at school. 78% of the LGBT youth are being teased and bullied which is significantly higher than of those who i dentify as heterosexual youth.
"Bullying and harassment can have negative effects on the development and mental health of GLBTQ students, such as extreme anxiety and depression, relationship problems, low self-esteem, substance abuse, and thoughts of suicide. These students are also at much greater risk of physical assault than other children and youth" (http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying_sexual_orientation.page).
Being bullied leads to depression and anxiety, which is a factor for self harming. The LGBT youth feel as though they are not wanted and doesn't fit in the society. Victims of bullying keep and isolate themselves from others which causes them to be unable to communicate with others are deemed to be another factor on self harming. Self harm is not the sickness. It is the effects of the major illness itself, the emotional distress.
C. Negative Body Image
Body image is the mental picture that someone perceive on one's own body. It is how someone feels about their physical appearance or how they think others look at them. This is a common trait that self harmers and the LGBT youth share. Teenagers who self harm often exhibit dislike about their bodies and sometimes even shows signs of anorexia and other illness that includes body dysmorphia. On the other hand, the LGBT youth most especially the transgenders and transsexuals also show dislike with their own body. They feel like they were born in the wrong body and wishing they were biologically born in the opposite sex. That's why they cross dress, make a new name for themselves, and in transsexuals' case go through a sex change operation.
According to research homosexual men show dislike to their bodies too. Based on this article by John Ballew entitled Body Image Pressure on Gay Men on website bodymindsoul.org, homosexual men devote more time and effort to cultivating their physical appearance than any other demographic group. Straight men liked their bodies the most, followed by gay women, and straight women liked their bodies less than the those two groups.
"Learn to appreciate body types in all shapes and sizes. Stop trashing men who don’t conform to the “buffed” image. Seek alternative role models. Don’t emphasize body size or shape as an indication of a man’s worth or his identity as a man. Learn to value the person inside." (http://bodymindsoul.org/articles/gay-sexuality/body-image-pressures-on-gay-men/).
Gay men shows sign of body dysmorphia than all of the other demographic groups due to the cultural standards and stereotypes of beauty among the said group. They worry if either they are too thin or too fat or whether they fit on a aesthethic stereotype or not. This body dysmorphia or negative body image obviously results to anxiety and depression which is a factor on why people self harm.
III. Conclusion
The researcher believes that no one can cure anyone from self harming but the self harmers themselves. Though it is hard to open up to others with your problems it is necessary and vital. It is not a sign of weakness to seek help. Self harming is a mental illness and it is rather hard to fight your own brain by yourself.
A. Let Someone Know
It is important to let someone know what is going on with you. Tell someone that you trust they may be your friends, family, or people who goes through the same problem as yours. The feeling of being understood, not being judged and feeling loved is very important for a person's mental health especially to self harmers.
B. Seek Medical Help
Depression is one of the leading causes of self harming. There are anti-depressants that can be prescripted to you by a licensed psychiatrist or whatever medications you might need. It also beneficial so you might kno if you may have any co-curring disorders other than self harming. The sooner you get checked by a doctor the sooner you can be cured out of this illness. You can also try support groups so you can interact and communicate with people that goes through the same struggles that you do.
C. Some helpful tips on recovering from self-harming
There are two factors that prevents self harmers to fully recover from self harming.
One is seeing their past self harm scars. So here are some tips to fade or to make those scars disappear. You can run or dab vaseline onto the scars twice a day to help them fade. It is recommended by doctors and nurses for minor surgery scars. When your wounds from cutting are healed, make peeling using anything grainy (like corn grits) and olive oil, it will remove dead cells. After that take little bit of honey, add few drops of lemon and put it on scar, honey will regenerate skin and lemon will make it lighter. Don’t forget to rinse it after 5-10min. Do this two or three times a week. Sugar scrubs, bio oil and creams specifically made to fade scars helps too especially lotions and body washes with cocoa and shea. Vitamin E is also used by surgeons to help fade surgery scars. To get vitamin E, buy capsules, poke a hole in the tablets with a needle, and spread the vitamin E on the scars. Vitamin E oil is also available at most general stores.
Another factor is wanting to feel a physical sensation. Here are some non-destructive alternatives to self harming. Find some ice cubes or anything frozen solid and hold it to where you self harm to give you a numb-burning sensation. Hold it there as long as you can, or until it melts. Snap a hair elastic or rubber band around your wrist. Take a hot/cold shower. Go to the gym, dance, exercise. Chew a piece of ginger root or a hot pepper.
Put tiger balm on the places you want to cut. (Tiger balm is a muscle relaxant cream that induces a tingly sensation. You can find it in most health food stores and vitamin stores.)
Wax your legs/pluck your eyebrows. Pour some candle wax onto yourself, but make sure you hold it up high enough so that the wax cools a bit before touching your skin. If it starts to feel like you’re burning yourself, stop immediately.Try T.I.P.: Temperature change. Dunk your head in ice water (known as the mamillian dive reflex, known to lower heart rates) or hold ice in your hand. Intense exercise. Try not to go too far with this one. Do ten jumping jacks, run a mile on the treadmill, or do 20 pushups. Just do it until you’re no longer triggered and no more than that.Progressive muscle relaxation. Tense and relax every muscle in your body one by one. Tense for 10 seconds, take deep breaths, then release.
This paper attempted to determine the factors that contribute to the prevalence of self harm among the LGBT Youth.
The research design used in this study is the descriptive research method wherein data from documents and articles found in the internet were used to answer the research question posed. The research finding were the following:
As the researcher have read so many articles about self harming, one thing he observed is that self harming is mostly exclusive to teenagers. It was even stereotyped as some kind of a "phase" every teenagers go through but of course it is obviously not. It is a mental illness that was either caused by various factors on the environment or something scientific. The researcher also knew that a large percentage of these teenagers happen to be a part of the LGBT community but what are the factors that causes the prevalence of self harming on the homosexual youth?
A lot of evidence and statistics proves that self harm is more common within the LGBT youth. An article by by Tracy Alderman entitled The Relationship Between Self-Injury and Sexual Orientation from the website Psychologytoday.com explained the 3 major factors that relates self harming and sexual orientation. First, self harm begins in adolescence, also the time when sexuality or sexual orientation are being explored. Particularly those who haven't come out or unsure of their sexuality are more susceptible to self harming because they struggle to fit in and they hide their sexual orientation. The second factor is, given the first factor, they are more likely to be subjected to bullying, lower self-esteem and various types of emotional and mental abuse that may lead to harming themselves. The secrecy, isolation and inability to interact or communicate to others are also considered to be associated to self harming. The last factor is the negative body image. A number of self harmers have said that they hate their bodies. Similar to those in the LGBT community, that made a factor for the teenagers to injure themselves.
However, there are a number of factors that can be said to be related between self harming and sexual orientation those are the only 3 major relations.
On the latter part of the article Ms. Alderman wrote this statement,"What is the relationship between self-injury and sexual orientation? The answer is not so clear. Certainly, being LGBT does not mean that one is going to self-injure, nor does being a self-injurer mean that someone is LGBT. However, it does appear that there may be good reason for the anecdotal evidence that there may be a higher proportion of self-injurers within the LGBT community. Shame, secrecy, isolation, feeling different, poor body image, low self-esteem, abuse history, poor support system, and limited coping outlets are all possible factors associated with being a member of the LGBT community. These same factors have also been shown to be linked with self-injury." (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scarred-soul/200911/the-relationship-between-self-injury-and-sexual-orientation).
A. Adolescence
Aside from the physical changes and other biological phenomenon that happens to a teenager's body during puberty, there is also the developmental factor that goes through their body and mind about figuring out and exploring their sexual orientation.
The significance of adolescence being an interrelated factor between self harming and sexual orientation is kind of strong. Puberty is a period where your body matures from childhood to adulthood. It is when hormones are at work. For boys the hormones on their body called testosterone makes their voices deeper and make them taller. For girls the hormones on their body called estrogen makes their breasts bigger and adding curves to their torsos. Both of them also grow body hairs on their pubic areas and underarms. It is also the time where teenagers are starting to figure out their sexuality. It is the age of curiosity and experimentation.
According to the article of J.L. Cook on the website education.com entitled The Development of Sexual Orientation most children begin experiencing feelings of sexual attraction during late childhood or early adolescence. They begin to develop their own sexual orientation whether it is a homosexual orientation (attracted to the same sex), heterosexual orientation (attracted to the opposite sex) or bisexual orientation (attracted to both sexes).
Differences between homosexual and heterosexual individuals are even seen since childhood. The development of homosexual identity has 4 stages. Stage 1: Sensitization, this stage occurs before puberty wherein a child has a feeling of being different from his or her same sex peers. Stage 2: Identity Confusion, usually experienced during adolescence, this stage involves conflict the teenagers self image and his her feelings of same sex arousal. Stage 3: Identity Assumption, this stage begins during early twenties wherein a person defines and accepts himself as a homosexual and associates with fellow homosexuals. Stage 4: Commitment, this stage begins when a person enters a same sex relationship and adopts homosexuality as a lifestyle and a satisfying self identity.
"One study of young men who described themselves as homosexual or bisexual found that these men recalled experiencing feelings of same-sex attraction by the age of 10 and had their first homosexual experiences at around 14 (Savin-Williams, 1995)" (http://www.education.com/reference/article/development-sexual-orientation/)
Due to these circumstances the LGBT youth feel disoriented for we are living in a world where homosexuality is not yet accepted as a norm. It has it's stereotypes and negative image and is regarded as something "not normal" even with the evidence of scientific studies and analysis.
B. Bullying and Low Self Esteem
Bullying is the act of using of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively impose domination over others. It consists of four basic types of abuse – emotional , verbal, physical, and cyber. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. Homosexuals being in the minority group often becomes the target of bullies. Sometimes bullying even comes to an extent that it affects not only the physical but also the mental and emotional health of the victim. Verbal bullying is the most common way of bullying and children often use the word "gay" as an insult.
According to this article by Jane Riese entitle Youth Who Are Bullied Based upon Perceptions About Their Sexual Orientation on violencepreventionworks.org as many as 93% of the teenagers are being subjected to hearing derogatory words about sexual orientation once in a while and more than half of the teens hear them everyday at school. 78% of the LGBT youth are being teased and bullied which is significantly higher than of those who i dentify as heterosexual youth.
"Bullying and harassment can have negative effects on the development and mental health of GLBTQ students, such as extreme anxiety and depression, relationship problems, low self-esteem, substance abuse, and thoughts of suicide. These students are also at much greater risk of physical assault than other children and youth" (http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying_sexual_orientation.page).
Being bullied leads to depression and anxiety, which is a factor for self harming. The LGBT youth feel as though they are not wanted and doesn't fit in the society. Victims of bullying keep and isolate themselves from others which causes them to be unable to communicate with others are deemed to be another factor on self harming. Self harm is not the sickness. It is the effects of the major illness itself, the emotional distress.
C. Negative Body Image
Body image is the mental picture that someone perceive on one's own body. It is how someone feels about their physical appearance or how they think others look at them. This is a common trait that self harmers and the LGBT youth share. Teenagers who self harm often exhibit dislike about their bodies and sometimes even shows signs of anorexia and other illness that includes body dysmorphia. On the other hand, the LGBT youth most especially the transgenders and transsexuals also show dislike with their own body. They feel like they were born in the wrong body and wishing they were biologically born in the opposite sex. That's why they cross dress, make a new name for themselves, and in transsexuals' case go through a sex change operation.
According to research homosexual men show dislike to their bodies too. Based on this article by John Ballew entitled Body Image Pressure on Gay Men on website bodymindsoul.org, homosexual men devote more time and effort to cultivating their physical appearance than any other demographic group. Straight men liked their bodies the most, followed by gay women, and straight women liked their bodies less than the those two groups.
"Learn to appreciate body types in all shapes and sizes. Stop trashing men who don’t conform to the “buffed” image. Seek alternative role models. Don’t emphasize body size or shape as an indication of a man’s worth or his identity as a man. Learn to value the person inside." (http://bodymindsoul.org/articles/gay-sexuality/body-image-pressures-on-gay-men/).
Gay men shows sign of body dysmorphia than all of the other demographic groups due to the cultural standards and stereotypes of beauty among the said group. They worry if either they are too thin or too fat or whether they fit on a aesthethic stereotype or not. This body dysmorphia or negative body image obviously results to anxiety and depression which is a factor on why people self harm.
III. Conclusion
The researcher believes that no one can cure anyone from self harming but the self harmers themselves. Though it is hard to open up to others with your problems it is necessary and vital. It is not a sign of weakness to seek help. Self harming is a mental illness and it is rather hard to fight your own brain by yourself.
A. Let Someone Know
It is important to let someone know what is going on with you. Tell someone that you trust they may be your friends, family, or people who goes through the same problem as yours. The feeling of being understood, not being judged and feeling loved is very important for a person's mental health especially to self harmers.
B. Seek Medical Help
Depression is one of the leading causes of self harming. There are anti-depressants that can be prescripted to you by a licensed psychiatrist or whatever medications you might need. It also beneficial so you might kno if you may have any co-curring disorders other than self harming. The sooner you get checked by a doctor the sooner you can be cured out of this illness. You can also try support groups so you can interact and communicate with people that goes through the same struggles that you do.
C. Some helpful tips on recovering from self-harming
There are two factors that prevents self harmers to fully recover from self harming.
One is seeing their past self harm scars. So here are some tips to fade or to make those scars disappear. You can run or dab vaseline onto the scars twice a day to help them fade. It is recommended by doctors and nurses for minor surgery scars. When your wounds from cutting are healed, make peeling using anything grainy (like corn grits) and olive oil, it will remove dead cells. After that take little bit of honey, add few drops of lemon and put it on scar, honey will regenerate skin and lemon will make it lighter. Don’t forget to rinse it after 5-10min. Do this two or three times a week. Sugar scrubs, bio oil and creams specifically made to fade scars helps too especially lotions and body washes with cocoa and shea. Vitamin E is also used by surgeons to help fade surgery scars. To get vitamin E, buy capsules, poke a hole in the tablets with a needle, and spread the vitamin E on the scars. Vitamin E oil is also available at most general stores.
Another factor is wanting to feel a physical sensation. Here are some non-destructive alternatives to self harming. Find some ice cubes or anything frozen solid and hold it to where you self harm to give you a numb-burning sensation. Hold it there as long as you can, or until it melts. Snap a hair elastic or rubber band around your wrist. Take a hot/cold shower. Go to the gym, dance, exercise. Chew a piece of ginger root or a hot pepper.
Put tiger balm on the places you want to cut. (Tiger balm is a muscle relaxant cream that induces a tingly sensation. You can find it in most health food stores and vitamin stores.)
Wax your legs/pluck your eyebrows. Pour some candle wax onto yourself, but make sure you hold it up high enough so that the wax cools a bit before touching your skin. If it starts to feel like you’re burning yourself, stop immediately.Try T.I.P.: Temperature change. Dunk your head in ice water (known as the mamillian dive reflex, known to lower heart rates) or hold ice in your hand. Intense exercise. Try not to go too far with this one. Do ten jumping jacks, run a mile on the treadmill, or do 20 pushups. Just do it until you’re no longer triggered and no more than that.Progressive muscle relaxation. Tense and relax every muscle in your body one by one. Tense for 10 seconds, take deep breaths, then release.
Chapter 3:
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The research design used in this study is the descriptive research method wherein data from documents and articles found in the internet were used to answer the research question posed. The research finding were the following:
1. The statistics proves that the prevalence among the LGBT youth are significantly higher than those individuals of the heterosexual orientation.
2. The rate of self harming and suicidal LGBT youth are found to be increasing.
3. The factors that interrelate self harming and sexual orientation are: Adolescence, Bullying and Low Self Esteem and Negative Body image.
4. Although three of the factors were determined there are still a number of factors that contribute to self harming among the LGBT community.
Conclusion
1. Being a homosexual or part of the LGBT community is in the minority in today's society and the society thinks that being different is wrong that's why homosexuals get looked down and on worse cases being bullied. Being bullied leads to self harming.
2. Gay men have the highest risk of self injuring because they are the demographic group who has the most negative body image according to studies.
3. Adolescent teenagers go through the process from being a child through adulthood that's and their hormones predict or further develop their sexual predisposition and orientation and due to the homosexuality being in the minority, they just keep it to themselves and do not come out as a homosexual which leads to anxiety and depression and might furthermore cause them to self harm.
4. There are still a number of factors that should be considered on the prevalence of self harming among the LGBT community and this field should have more in depth studies and research.
Recommendations
1. Doctors i.e. Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Counselors and other medical professionals that deals with human behavior and the brain. This study will help them understand self harmers more especially those who are of the LGBT community.
2. Teenagers and the LGBT community who self harm or used to self harm but now recovering from it. This will enlighten them about what might be happening to themselves and how they can possibly prevent it.
3. Future researchers who will study about self harming especially with the prevalence of self harmers that are part of the LGBT Community. This will help them understand the factor that ties self harming and the LGBT community and how they can help them stop from self harming.
References:
Alderman, Tracy; The Relationship Between Self-Injury and Sexual Orientation; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scarred-soul/200911/the-relationship-between-self-injury-and-sexual-orientation
Bacino, Lorenza; Shock figures show extent of self-harm in English teenagers; http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/21/shock-figures-self-harm-england-teenagers
Baklinski, Thaddeus; 52% of homosexual youth report self-harming: UK study; http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/52-of-homosexual-youth-in-large-study-report-self-harming-uk-study
Ballew, John R.; Body Image Pressures on Gay Men; http://bodymindsoul.org/articles/gay-sexuality/body-image-pressures-on-gay-men/
Cook, J.L and Cook, G.; The Development of Sexual Orientation; http://www.education.com/reference/article/development-sexual-orientation/
2. Gay men have the highest risk of self injuring because they are the demographic group who has the most negative body image according to studies.
3. Adolescent teenagers go through the process from being a child through adulthood that's and their hormones predict or further develop their sexual predisposition and orientation and due to the homosexuality being in the minority, they just keep it to themselves and do not come out as a homosexual which leads to anxiety and depression and might furthermore cause them to self harm.
4. There are still a number of factors that should be considered on the prevalence of self harming among the LGBT community and this field should have more in depth studies and research.
Recommendations
1. Doctors i.e. Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Counselors and other medical professionals that deals with human behavior and the brain. This study will help them understand self harmers more especially those who are of the LGBT community.
2. Teenagers and the LGBT community who self harm or used to self harm but now recovering from it. This will enlighten them about what might be happening to themselves and how they can possibly prevent it.
3. Future researchers who will study about self harming especially with the prevalence of self harmers that are part of the LGBT Community. This will help them understand the factor that ties self harming and the LGBT community and how they can help them stop from self harming.
References:
Alderman, Tracy; The Relationship Between Self-Injury and Sexual Orientation; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scarred-soul/200911/the-relationship-between-self-injury-and-sexual-orientation
Bacino, Lorenza; Shock figures show extent of self-harm in English teenagers; http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/21/shock-figures-self-harm-england-teenagers
Baklinski, Thaddeus; 52% of homosexual youth report self-harming: UK study; http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/52-of-homosexual-youth-in-large-study-report-self-harming-uk-study
Ballew, John R.; Body Image Pressures on Gay Men; http://bodymindsoul.org/articles/gay-sexuality/body-image-pressures-on-gay-men/
Cook, J.L and Cook, G.; The Development of Sexual Orientation; http://www.education.com/reference/article/development-sexual-orientation/
Owen, Jemima; The internet didn't kill Tallulah Wilson, but nor did it do much to help her; http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/25/internet-tallulah-wilson-websites-teenage-suicides
Riese, Jane; Youth Who Are Bullied Based upon Perceptions About Their Sexual Orientation; http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying_sexual_orientation.page
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