Self-Harm in Mood Disorders

Why Self Harm Feels Good In The Brain
Self harm is present in a wide variety of mental disorders and in many different forms from cutting,burning,hitting and banging your body against hard surfaces to picking your skin ,pulling out your hair and poisoning yourself.
Strangely people may cut to dissociate or to get out of unpleasant dissociation,stop feeling empty,after being rejected,to punish oneself sometimes when feeling evil,to reduce suicidal urges and even when craving physical touch....Self harm has a very quick calming effect when feeling strong anger or any other feeling,it may not always help but can quickly become addictive when you want a quick release of the emotional pain and/or anxiety & nothing will do it as quickly.I find it easier to cut myself during high emotional distress because it causes very little physical pain & is easier to do than when I'm feeling ok or not very distressed because it hurts more physically.

The Limbic system-emotional behaviour & motivation

The amygdala-is part of the limbic system (which is involved in emotional behavior and motivation) and is involved in the processing & expression of emotions, especially anger & fear.

The Amygdala

BPD sufferers seem to have reduced pain perception.During a study which involved using heat to create pain and pictures to create a positive or negative emotional response.A comparison between borderline patients & healthy controls using brain scan imaging found evidence of heightened activation on the limbic circuit when the pictures that triggered positive/negative emotions were shown to borderlines.This with the activated amygdala showed emotion dysregulation.The use of heat inhibited the activation of the amygdala in borderlines & healthy controls which would supposedly supress the emotional reaction.

Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, commented, “These data are consistent with the hypothesis that physically painful stimuli provide some relief from emotional distress for some patients with borderline personality disorder because they paradoxically inhibit brain regions involved in emotion. This process may help them to compensate for deficient emotional regulation mechanisms.”The authors note that these results are in line with previous findings on emotional hyperactivity in borderline personality disorder and suggest that these individuals process pain stimuli differently depending on their arousal status.


Neuropeptides are molecules in the human body that transmit information between nerve cells called neurons.Each neuropeptide has neuron targets in different bodily organs, such as the brain,where they function and exert unique effects on behavior, thoughts, and feelings.(exaomples are endorphins and serotonin)


Neuropeptides such as opioids which are natural painkillers for physical pain but also for emotional pain, such as feeling hurt after being rejected by someone you care about. In BPD, Stanley and Siever think that opioids may play a common role in the experience of negative emotions and self-injurious behavior. For example, some research indicates that BPD patients have low baseline opioid levels. However, they also appear to have an increased number and more receptors for opioids in the brain. The opioid release that is triggered when pain is encountered might, therefore, powerfully affect those with BPD. Opioid release after self-injurious behavior might explain the relief from the emptiness individuals with BPD experience.

Self Harm More Common in Bi-Polar than Borderlines

Self harm mostly in the form of wrist cutting was shown in a study to be more common in Bipolar 1 than in borderline personality disorder (BPD).The relatives of non-bipolar subjects in the study with self-harm had higher rates of Biplar1,Bipolar II and
(6 times higher occurence of ) self-harm.
This hints at a possible genetic factor in self-mutilation.
Self harm may be carried out in mixed mood states to relieve
tension as well as for the reasons outlined in the chart above.

Stopping The Cycle Of Self Harm

Crisis Skills Post
Bad Coping Skills Post


sources:http://www.gnmhealthcare.com/pdf/02-2010/25/ANPv44i3-02250047-412457_00048670903487159.pdf
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authored_newsitem.cws_home/companynews05_01647
The Free Dictionary
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/laughter4.htm
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-the-border/201003/compelling-new-framework-bpd-research-the-promise-neuropeptides