The Link Between Eating Disorders and Self-Mutilation

January 11, 2021   •  Posted in: 

According to recent statistics, about 25 percent of people with eating disorders also engage in some form of self-mutilation, self-injury or self-harm.

Self-mutilation, also known as self-harm or self-injury, is the act of intentionally harming one’s own body through cutting, burning, hair-pulling or a wide range of behaviors that inflict damage. Self-mutilation is common among people suffering from eating disorders. According to recent statistics, about 25 percent of people with eating disorders also engage in some form of self-mutilation, self-injury or self-harm.

For many, self-mutilation is a way to respond to or alleviate intense emotional feelings, often the result of some kind of trauma or stress. Those who self-mutilate externalize injuries in order to express what they’re feeling on the inside.

In order to recover from self-mutilation, it’s important to find a healthy way to counter strong feelings such as journal writing, talking with family or friends or meditating.

If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder and self-mutilation, A Place of Hope can help. Our eating disorder treatment program focuses on the whole person to foster recovery from the inside-out. To find out more about our recovery programs, please contact us today.

Dr. Gregory Jantz

Pioneering Whole Person Care over thirty years ago, Dr. Gregory Jantz is an innovator in the treatment of mental health. He is a best-selling author of over 45 books, and a go-to media authority on behavioral health afflictions, appearing on CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CNN. Dr. Jantz leads a team of world-class, licensed, and...

Read More

Related Posts

Managing Hormonal Rage

By: Dr. Gregory Jantz  •  April 28, 2015

No discussion of women’s anger would be complete without acknowledging the physical and hormonal influence over the course of your life—from puberty to post-menopause. Each stage has its own challenges. Whatever the phase, there are some basic commonsense steps you can take to treat your body gently. Women in their...

Eating Disorders: Losing Your Sense of Self

By: Dr. Gregory Jantz  •  September 9, 2015

Few things are as frightening as losing control, feeling powerless against overwhelming forces. When overcome by events, we can feel swept up on relentless waves of circumstance that hurl us toward terrifying heights and bone-jarring lows. Each event is made worse if we have tried to stop it and been...

Self-Medicating Through Self-Harming

By: Dr. Gregory Jantz  •  April 10, 2015

Terry sat in the train station worrying. She worried she was at the wrong track. She worried the train would be late. She worried her daughter wouldn’t be able to pick her up at the other end. Terry worried this entire trip was really a bother to her daughter, especially...

Get Started Now

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Main Concerns*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Whole Person Care

The whole person approach to treatment integrates all aspects of a person’s life:

  • Emotional well-being
  • Physical health
  • Spiritual peace
  • Relational happiness
  • Intellectual growth
  • Nutritional vitality