Treatment

There's no one best way to treat self-injuring behavior, but the first step is to tell someone so you can get help. Treatment is based on your specific issues and any related mental health disorders you might have, such as depression. Because self-injury can become a major part of your life, it's best to get treatment from a mental health professional experienced in self-injury issues.

If the self-injury behavior is associated with a mental health disorder, such as depression or borderline personality disorder, the treatment plan focuses on that disorder, as well as the self-injury behavior.

Treating self-injury behavior can take time, hard work and your own desire to recover.

Here's more information about treatment options.

Psychotherapy

Known as talk therapy or psychological counseling, psychotherapy can help you:

• Identify and manage underlying issues that trigger self-injuring behavior
• Learn skills to better manage distress
• Learn how to regulate your emotions
• Learn how to boost your self-image
• Develop skills to improve your relationships and social skills
• Develop healthy problem-solving skills

Several types of individual psychotherapy may be helpful, such as:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps you identify unhealthy, negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy, adaptive ones
• Dialectical behavior therapy, a type of CBT that teaches behavioral skills to help you tolerate distress, manage or regulate your emotions, and improve your relationships with others
• Mindfulness-based therapies, which help you live in the present, appropriately perceive the thoughts and actions of those around you to reduce your anxiety and depression, and improve your general well-being

In addition to individual therapy sessions, family therapy or group therapy also may be recommended.

Medications

There are no medications to specifically treat self-injuring behavior. However, if you're diagnosed with a mental health disorder, such as depression or an anxiety disorder, your doctor may recommend antidepressants or other medications to treat the underlying disorder that's associated with self-injury. Treatment for these disorders may help you feel less compelled to hurt yourself.

Psychiatric hospitalization

If you injure yourself severely or repeatedly, your doctor may recommend that you be admitted to a hospital for psychiatric care. Hospitalization, often short term, can provide a safe environment and more-intensive treatment until you get through a crisis. Mental health day treatment programs also may be an option.