Wednesday, December 03, 2008 Reuters (via foxnews.com)
Some troubled teens are embedding nails, paper clips, bits of rock, glass and even crayons in their bodies as a way to cope with disturbing thoughts and feelings, U.S. researchers said Wednesday.
They described cases in which teens had forced numerous objects into their arms, hands, feet, ankles and necks in a condition they are calling self-embedding disorder, a step beyond more common forms of self-mutilation.
"We identified a group of 10 patients over a three-year period of time that have this pattern of self-inflicted injury," said Dr. William Shiels, chief of radiology at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He presented his findings at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.
"It's cutting gone to the next level," Shiels said in a telephone interview.
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"It is often kept secret, but some studies suggest that 13 to 24 percent of high school students in the U.S. and Canada have practiced deliberate self-injury at least once."
Many adults are completely unaware of this popular phenomenon among today's youth. That is because this is a new phenomenon, that was rare when today's middle aged population were growing up.
There are "clicks" among high school and college age kids called "emos". These kids are known for manic depressive behavior and self mutilation. They can be identified by their appearance which is described on this website: http://www.emohowto.info/howtodress.html
Some people might think that since this malady affects such a large number of people, it should not be considered a mental disorder. Today's popular culture preaches that it is just a lifestyle choice and that today's youth are just practicing their "freedom of expression".
I have personally know 2 women who have noticeable scars from self mutilation. Both are bi-sexual/lesbians and one is extremely heavily tattooed and has multiple piercings in her face, abdomen, nipples and vagina. Both have been sexually abused as children and are drug addicted prostitutes. Perhaps these behaviors are a legitimate lifestyle choice, however, I believe all of the above mentioned behaviors to be the symptoms of an underlying mental illness.
Also, I was surprised to find that approximately one third of people who sport numerous tattoos say, that one of the main attractions for getting tattooed, is the pain involved in the tattooing possess.
I see less extreme examples of this type of behavior in today's "typical" youths. However, I believe that extreme tattooing and piercing, homosexuality, drug abuse and self mutilation are all symptoms of mental disorders. I believe that most mental disorders originate from childhood experiences. I believe that mental illness is on the rise in today's America due to the disappearing intact family and the feminizing of our society as described in my article "The Feminizing of Society" http://garyganu.blogspot.com/2008/11/boys-will-be-boys.html
Today's schools, universities, media and the arts encourage accepting and celebrating much of the above mentioned bizarre behaviors. As a result, even the more normal youths of today, are confused and unable to distinguish normal and positive behavior from abnormal and unhealthy behavior.
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