Question

What education, information, and strategies can you provide a client using self-harm as maladaptive coping? Explain how distraction, grounding, and harm reductions strategies are important for people who self-harm.

Answer 1

Coping can be adaptive or maladapive and self harm is a maladaptive coping mechanism.

Stress is one of the main factor which leads to this self harm behaviour.

• Psychological social mechanisms or skills generally refers to the strategies that can reduce stress which simultaneously reduce the self harm attittude.
• Social support groups can do a lot with people who using self harm as a maladaptive coping.
• There are a lot of things anyone can teach or do to make a difference to somone who self harm;

Let the person knothat you are there for them.

Try not to be judgemental.

Relate to them as a whole person not ,not just their self harming behaviour.

Show empathy and understanding about what they are going through.

Let them be in control of their decisions.

Offer to help them find support.

Remind them of their positive qualities and things they do well.

DISTRACTION

• Distraction can help to supress theurges that leads to self injury and may help in the recovery process.
• Focusing on identifying feelings and challenging the thoughts that lead to self injury can be helpful.
• Mindful activities like countind numbers, breathing slowly, yoga, meditation etc can help to distract the person during self harming behaviour.
• exercise, break old dishes, punch pillows etc can be good methos to reduce frustration during self harm moments.
• Cry it out, making loud noice can be the other forms of distraction stategies.

GROUNDING

• This is the practice that can help to pull someone away from flashbacks, unwanted memories, and negative or challenging emotions.
• This technique will help to distract the person from what they are experiencing and refocus on whats happening in the present moment.
• Grounding includes physical techniques(put the hands in water, breath deeply, savor a food or drink, hold a piece of ice, short walk, listen to the surroundings.) Mental techniques( play a memory game, count numbers in mind, recite something, make yourself laugh, imagine yourself leaving a painul feeling behind) and Soothing techniques( picture the face of something you love, pactice self kindness, sit with the pets)

HARM REDUCTION STRATEGIES

• Distract the patient during self hrm events.
• Remove the sharp objects from patients reach.
• Provide psychological suport to the patient.
• Social support groups.
• Continuous monitoring for the patient to avoid self harm.Dont let the patient alone or unattended.