What Lies Beneath: Some Neurological Correlates of Nonsuicidal Self-injury
Issue:
Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2022
Pages:
7-14
Received:
4 May 2022
Accepted:
24 May 2022
Published:
31 May 2022
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.11
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: Generally regarded as being deliberate damage to the body in the absence of intent to die, and for purposes that are not socially sanctioned, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been a subject of increasing concern in the area of public health over the past 20 years. Clinical and research evidence indicates that onset typically begins in early adolescence, although the data is less clear on the incidence of self-harm in the adolescent population in general. There is a general understanding, however, that one major function of NSSI is the regulation of emotions and managing distress, while self-punishment has also been reported as a further significant motive to self-harm. Whereas social and psychological factors contributing to risk for developing NSSI are now relatively well understood, neurological mechanisms involved in self-harming behaviours are less so. It is considered that an understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms involved in NSSI may provide a better explanation for the urges to self-harm, the role these mechanisms play in regulating emotions, and reasons why stopping the behaviour can be so difficult. This paper provides a brief summary of the current risk factors associated with NSSI, then reviews aspects of neurological correlates of self-harming behaviours with an emphasis on autonomic nervous system functioning.
Abstract: Generally regarded as being deliberate damage to the body in the absence of intent to die, and for purposes that are not socially sanctioned, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been a subject of increasing concern in the area of public health over the past 20 years. Clinical and research evidence indicates that onset typically begins in early adole...
Show More
Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials
Declan Lyons,
Maria Frampton,
Ailbhe Doherty,
Elle O’Driscoll,
Connor Montgomery
Issue:
Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2022
Pages:
15-21
Received:
11 May 2022
Accepted:
30 May 2022
Published:
8 June 2022
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.
Abstract: Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endea...
Show More
