Teenagers face daily stress many adults have forgotten about or painfully remember from their own adolescence. Hormonal changes, growing pains, peer pressure, academic stress, and a growing desire for independence are often hard to manage. Many teens have trouble asking family, friends, and counselors for help. They often feel very alone in their experiences, which can lead to low self-esteem and even self-harm. Self-harming behavior can be scary for parents and loved ones. However, there are programs across the country providing self-harm treatment specifically for teens.
If your teen is practicing self-harm or you’re concerned about their mental health, call Foothills at Red Oak Recovery. Foothills can help teenage boys build resilience and recover from addiction and mental health disorders. Call us today 866.300.5275 or use our convenient online form to learn more about our self-harm treatment programs for teenage boys.
What Does Teen Self-Harm Involve?
Unfortunately, self-harming behavior is common among teenagers. People look for independence and autonomy over their own bodies during their teenage years. It may seem counter-intuitive, but self-harm provides this sense of control. It may provide emotional release and self-soothing through actions such as:
- Cutting themself
- Burning
- Punching themself
- Pulling hair out
- Scratching themself
- Attempting to break their own bones
Peer pressures, family stress, social media, and societal expectations can lead teens to self-harm. Adolescent boys especially struggle with unrealistic societal expectations and fears of failure. For those who don’t fit into specific sports or social groups, self-harming behavior may be their way of coping.
Self-harm can often be easy to hide under clothing. Other times, someone may cut or burn themselves repeatedly on parts of their body that are visible to loved ones. This may be their way of asking to be seen and ultimately asking for help. Cutting and burning can happen at any time. The onset may be sudden, and the practice is often ongoing.
Self-harm is often very concerning for parents and friends. Many worry self-harming behavior is a step to suicide. However, self-harming behavior is a symptom of treatable mental health disorders for many teenagers. Those struggling with ADHD, depression, or anxiety may cut or burn themselves to self-soothe their emotional state. Luckily, professional psychotherapists and alternative modalities easily treat these and other mental health disorders.
Self-Harming Treatment for Adolescent Boys in North Carolina
More often than not, self-harming behavior is a coping mechanism. A treatment program can help teens develop and practice healthy coping mechanisms for stress and emotional regulation. At Foothills, we focus on holistic approaches to overcoming self-harming behaviors. Our clinicians understand the importance of correctly identifying the issue at the source, which often leads to a dual diagnosis. Many times, once an expert has diagnosed the teen with mental health disorder and sufficient treatment begins, self-harming behavior stops. Our treatment programs include a combination of traditional and alternative therapies.
Individual therapy helps clients change negative thought patterns. Our clients address factors such as:
- Life stressors
- Childhood trauma
- The unrealistic pressures of social media
- Mental health concerns
Clients then take tools from therapy outdoors. Our program features both equine and large animal therapy. Working with these animals helps our clients reconnect to nature and, ultimately, themselves.
Our group and family therapy programs help teenage boys build community, repair relationships, and improve communication. Through group conversation, many adolescent boys realize the problems they face are not just their own.
Unfortunately, untreated self-harming behavior can lead to more risk-taking behaviors. Some may turn to drugs or alcohol to self-soothe. Others may thrive off of adrenaline. Without treatment, self-harm can lead to suicide.
Get your Teen Help for Self-Harm at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery
Self-harming behavior is treatable. If your son or another teenage boy in your life is practicing self-harm, Foothills can help. Call us today at 866.300.5275 to learn more about our holistic treatment programs for teenage boys.
