Self-destructive behavior
Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful, or that could be harmful to the person who behaves that way. It is sometimes done on purpose but not always. Many people have shown such behavior. They may do it on purpose, out of an impulse, or it may grow to be a habit. It may continue for a long time, some people have killed themselves with such behavior.[1]
When professionals talk about such behavior, they look at behaviors that are fatal, that form a habit, or that lead to some form of addiction. People who suffer from certain mental illnesses also show self-destructive behavior. Examples of such illnesses are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,[2] borderline personality disorder[3] and schizophrenia.[4][5]
Forms[change | change source]
Self-destructive behavior may be used as a coping mechanism when one is overwhelmed. For example, faced with a pressing scholastic assessment, someone may choose to sabotage their work rather than cope with the stress. This would make submission of (or passing) the assessment impossible, but remove the worry associated with it.[6]
More obvious forms of self-destruction are eating disorders, alcoholism, drug addictions, self-harm, gambling addictions and suicide attempts.[7]
Many peple who lack self-confidence show self-destructive behavior. They think they cannot handle the stress. Because they are not self-confident, they ask themselves questions, in a relationship, whether the other person is truly faithful ("how can they love someone like me?"); at work or school, whether the realization of assignments and deadlines is possible ("there is no way I can complete all my work on time").[8] Self-destructive people usually lack healthier coping mechanisms, like asserting personal boundaries. As a result, they tend to feel that showing they are incompetent is the only way to untangle themselves from demands.[9]
Successful individuals may self-destructively sabotage their own achievements; this may stem from a feeling of anxiety, unworthiness, or from an impulsive desire to repeat the "climb to the top."[10]
Self-destructive behavior is often considered to be the same as self-harm, but this is not accurate. Self-harm is an extreme form of self-destructive behavior, but it may appear in many other forms. Just as personal experience can affect how extreme one's self-destructive behavior is, self-harm reflects this. Overall, personal experience and mental health problems is what affects self-harm.[11]
Treatment[change | change source]
Treating people with self-desctrutive behavior is difficult. It often means that these people need to go through dfferent stages, to fully recover. For body-focused repetitive behaviors, such as trichotillomania there are therapies such as habit reversal training and decoupling which seem to be effective.[12] For behaviour involving alcohol and/or drugs there are rehabilitation places that can help to stop the behaviour. Medicines such as tranquilisers (calming medicines) and anti-depressant medications that may help especially if the cause is mental illness.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Beck, Aaron T.; Kovacs, Maria; Weissman, Arlene (1979). "Assessment of suicidal intention: The Scale for Suicide Ideation". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 47 (2): 343–352. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.47.2.343. PMID 469082. S2CID 38965005.
- ↑ Honos-Webb, Lara; Ph.D. (2014-01-13). "You Will Regret This Later. So Why Are You Doing It?". ADDitude. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ↑ Anthony W. Bateman, Roy Krawitz (2013). Borderline Personality Disorder: An evidence-based guide for generalist mental health professionals. OUP Oxford, ISBN 978-0199644209
- ↑ Nyman, A. K.; Jonsson, H. (1986). "Patterns of self-destructive behaviour in schizophrenia". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 73 (3): 252–262. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1986.tb02682.x. PMID 3716842. S2CID 39593219.
- ↑ Lovaas, O.Ivar; Freitag, Gilbert; Gold, Vivian J.; Kassorla, Irene C. (1965). "Experimental studies in childhood schizophrenia: Analysis of self-destructive behavior". Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2: 67–84. doi:10.1016/0022-0965(65)90016-0.
- ↑ "Self-Destructive Behavior: The Causes, Traits, And Types". A Conscious Rethink. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ↑ "Self-Destructive Behavior: Signs, Causes & Effects - Video & Lesson Transcript". Study.com. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ↑ Fisman, Raymond J.; Kariv, Shachar; Markovits, Daniel (2005). "Pareto Damaging Behaviors". SSRN Working Paper Series. doi:10.2139/ssrn.748404. ISSN 1556-5068. S2CID 10761254.
- ↑ Scherzer, Andrea L. (2018-03-29), "Understanding self-destructive behaviour in adolescence", Violent Adolescents, Routledge, pp. 5–20, doi:10.4324/9780429484711-2, ISBN 9780429484711
- ↑ Pickrem, Faye (2017-01-01), "Disembodying Desire: Ontological Fantasy, Libidinal Anxiety and the Erotics of Renunciation in May Sinclair", May Sinclair, Edinburgh University Press, doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474415750.003.0007, ISBN 9781474415750
- ↑ van der Kolk, Bessel (December 1991). "Childhood Origins of Self-Destructive Behavior". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 12: 1665–1671.
- ↑ Lee, Melissa T.; Mpavaenda, Davis N.; Fineberg, Naomi A. (2019-04-24). "Habit Reversal Therapy in Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Evidence and CONSORT Evaluation of Randomized Controlled Trials". Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 13: 79. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00079. ISSN 1662-5153. PMC 6491945. PMID 31105537.