Self-harm in Wayne County

Self-harm is a rising problem among young people all over and Wayne county NY is not immune.  In fact, I have known a handful of people from Wayne county, in my life, who have suffered this epidemic. Canandaigua, NY has even implemented some means of prevention in their schools. They have a prevention specialist who works with middle school students on issues such as this.  The Wayne Post recently had an article about self-harm that highlighted the stories of many young people and some adults who had battle this issue. The article points out that self-harm is a very multidimensional problem that can be driven by a number of different things. The common thread among the different stories in the article was the need for control. The article states, "Self-harming is actually a self-medicating coping mechanism that comes from a normal, good desire to feel better...For some, self-injury provides a way to manage intolerable feelings or a way to experience some sense of feeling, she said. It is also used as means of coping with anxiety or other negative feelings and to relieve stress or pressure." This is a very common issue that primary care physicians need to be equipped to handle. As we learned in our RMED article this week, mental health knowledge is lacking among primary care physicians, and this is one more reason that we need to fill in that gap.  

http://www.waynepost.com/article/20140216/NEWS/140219706?refresh=true