Auto-aggression is still a taboo issue. Little is said about her, and if anything, the focus is on self-harm. Autoaggression, however, is not limited to the physical mutilation of the body through self-harm. It is a much broader concept and includes many other mental disorders. Often, auto-aggressive behavior can be very well disguised, which makes it difficult to say that the patient is struggling with problems.
What is self-harm?
Autoaggression is nothing more than an action or a set of actions aimed at causing mental or physical harm to oneself. It is believed to be a type of self-preservation disorder that can lead to self-harm, self-harm or even life-threatening behavior. Auto-aggressive behaviors can be very different and apart from the obvious ones, e.g. inflicting wounds on oneself, they can also include those that we usually consider normal, e.g. very intensive training or cosmetic surgery.
People who self-harm by inflicting physical harm to themselves also aggravate their mental problems. Behavior of this type is therefore a very complex process which manifests itself in bodily injuries.
Types of self-harm
To better understand the problem of self-harm, let’s now focus on two basic types:
- direct autoimmunity – this is the type of autoimmune that is usually the least questionable and the easiest to diagnose. The patient himself damages his body. He may do it in a physical or psychological way, e.g. the patient harms himself or constantly underestimates himself;
- indirect autoimmunity – this is a much more complex problem. The sick person provokes others to direct aggression towards him, and then succumbs to it.
There are also other divisions of self-harm:
- verbal autoaggression – the patient constantly accuses himself of various things and blames himself for them, even if he had no influence on certain situations;
- non-verbal autoaggression – the sick person damages his body. For this purpose, it can injure them, burn them, pour acid over them, break bones, cut out parts of the body, etc.
Self-harm as well as attempted suicide are often referred to as auto-aggressive behavior. Some people also include Münchausen’s syndrome. A patient suffering from this disorder complains of somatic problems and independently causes some symptoms of diseases, demanding surgery to deform his healthy body.
The causes of self-harm
Identifying the causes of self-harm is very difficult, and its appearance is associated with experiencing certain emotional difficulties, which may have very different origins. People who cannot cope with everyday life cause physical suffering that distracts from psychological difficulties.
Often, self-aggressive behavior occurs in people who have been victims of violence in the past, e.g. they were abused in their childhood. In this way, they are able to regain control of their own body and can fully decide what to do with it.
Another case where self-harm occurs frequently is when the person suffers from feelings of guilt frequently. Here the problem usually affects people from dysfunctional families and may be an attempt to show others that the patient is not coping with the situation in which he or she is.
Auto-aggressive disorders are very often just one of the manifestations of much deeper mental problems. They can be a sign of depression, schizophrenia and other very serious diseases. The problem may also concern the so-called unreal people who feel that the world around them is not real and, through self-harm, realize that they are really alive. Auto-aggressive behavior can also indicate autism.
Treatment of auto-aggression
If you are struggling with autoimmune disorders, someone close to you mutilate your body or hurt yourself in other ways, it may be necessary to see a specialist. You don’t have to rely on a psychiatrist right away – in many cases a visit to a psychological clinic is enough at the beginning. During the consultation, the psychologist will conduct a detailed interview that will allow him to diagnose the problem and propose an appropriate psychological therapy.
During the first conversation with a psychologist, the patient can expect questions about various aspects of his life – from childhood, through work, to traumatic experiences. As a result, the psychologist may recommend psychotherapy. If he suspects that the problem may be related to other, more serious, disorder, he or she may refer the patient to a psychiatrist or other specialist physician.