- I've discovered that my daughter is self-harming. Why is she doing this?
- I suspect my daughter is self-harming, but she doesn't want to talk about it. How can we help?
- How should parents react to this behavior? Should we check our children every day to see if they have self-harmed?
- What can we tell our children to change this behavior?
- My friend told me she's self-harming and I don't know what to do. Should I tell her parents?
- Are self-harms the same in boys and girls?
- Is trichotillomania a form of self-harm?
- How can we prevent them from self-harming again? What symptoms or tools can we give them so they can recognize when they are about to self-harm and stop?
- If we detect self-harm in our children, where should we go to see a psychologist through the public healthcare system?
- What can I do if my daughter relapses repeatedly despite going to therapy?
- Could it be considered self-harm when an 11-year-old child induces vomiting to avoid going to school?
- How can self-harm be detected if it's in a hidden location? On what parts of the body does it occur?
- Does self-harm mean you have borderline personality disorder or some other mental disorder?
- Why does self-harm seem to be fashionable these days? What's the reason for it?
- Is it possible my daughter copied this behavior from social media? How important is this, and what can we do?
- My daughter is in her first year of secondary school and is surrounded by other girls who self-harm. She thinks that if she doesn't, they won't accept her into the group. We talk about it at home, but how can I protect her from this behavior?
- Is self-harm a way to manipulate? Is it to get attention?
- How can we help a teenager who self-harms?
- Does self-harm in a teenager mean they have suicidal thoughts?
- If she self-harms now as a teenager, does that mean she'll do it for the rest of her life?
- If we detect that a student has self-harmed, what should we do?
- How can we manage cases of self-harm in school when we observe a contagious effect? When we ask them, they say they don't know why they do it, that since others do it, it's normal.
My daughter is in her first year of secondary school and is surrounded by other girls who self-harm. She thinks that if she doesn't, they won't accept her into the group. We talk about it at home, but how can I protect her from this behavior?
Peer influence is very high at this age. For a teenager, social acceptance can be one of their primary needs. This is true for both overly dependent and non-dependent teenagers. Therefore, imitative behaviors are often observed.
To protect adolescent girls from this, the most important steps should be taken several years earlier, fostering an environment where the girl doesn't develop excessive interpersonal dependence or an excessive need for acceptance and support, and where she develops assertiveness, her own judgment, and a degree of independence. Even if this has already been achieved, there is still a risk of imitation as a way to gain acceptance within a group. In these cases, it's advisable to talk to the girl, perhaps even with the help of a professional, to help her gain perspective, or even to distance herself from peer pressure if it's very high.
