Teens are not the most well behaved of all age groups. They are unruly, they can be very temperamental and at times they are literally a threat to themselves. Self injury is not uncommon among teenagers and more often than not they use lighters and razor blades to injure themselves even when they aren’t suicidal. Let’s find out why teens hurt themselves.
Peer pressure and imitation
Non-suicidal self-injury where a teenager uses razor blades, knives or lighters to injure themselves is most often a result of peer pressure or imitation. If the leader of a group has taken to self injury, those who perceive that person as a role model are also likely to resort to self injury to better fit into the group even if they aren’t plagued by psychological pressures per se.
Social isolation and other psychological reasons
Teenagers often face social isolation which mixes with existing feeling of anxiety, depression or an underlying psychological disorder and compounds the confusion. Self injury in such cases is a reflection of psychological stress.
An act of rebellion
Teen rebellion takes all forms and non-suicidal self injury is a major part of it. Teens know they have to listen to their parents and teachers and when they cannot rebel in any other way; they take to self injury to anguish authority figures and to guilt trip them for disciplining.
To relieve tension
Adolescence can be a very difficult time. Hormonal fluctuations coupled with growth spurts, social awkwardness, poor coping skills, negative emotions and negative body image often confuse a teen to the point where they basically begin to feel emotionally numb. To release this distressing feeling of numbness, teens often resort to cutting themselves to feel something even if it is pain.
