- Currently, self-harmers are forced to immediately stop hurting themselves
- But this treatment isn’t working, according to a mental health researcher
- Instead, allowing those not in immediate danger to continue could help them
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Depressed patients should be allowed to continue to self-harm, a mental health researcher claims.
For those not in immediate danger, the approach could prevent their mental state from becoming worse.
Current treatment options of forcing someone to stop hurting themselves aren’t working, they argue in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Instead, providing them with sterile razor blades could prevent sufferers from hurting themselves, developing deadly blood poisoning and even dying.
Current treatment options of forcing someone to stop hurting themselves aren’t working, argues a researcher with mental health care experience (stock)
Patrick Sullivan, from the University of Manchester, said focusing on restriction could make the problem worse.
Many of those who injure themselves have a history of abuse or trauma. Stopping them from carrying out their planned actions could intensify their feelings.
He said: ‘This increases the risk that individuals will self-injure covertly, in more dangerous ways, or attempt suicide.
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‘In some cases this can be fatal. This occurs in spite of high levels of observation.’
Mr Sullivan added: ‘There is a strong moral reason to consider alternatives, and harm minimisation provides an alternative to traditional ways of working.
‘Although evidence is weak or not available, proponents suggest it is a more realistic and pragmatic response to a complex health and social issue.
Providing sufferers with sterile razor blades could prevent sufferers from hurting themselves, developing deadly blood poisoning and even dying, an expert says (stock)
‘Where the risks of serious injury are low, limitations on basic freedoms are more difficult to justify.
‘By trying to prevent their injury, we harm them, we may fail to help them. I conclude that healthcare professionals sometimes have an obligation to allow harm.’
STAND UP STRAIGHT
Good posture could help treat depression, a study earlier this month claimed.
Previous research showed that slouching can crush one’s mood, and sitting straight does the opposite.
But scientists from the University of Auckland found sitting upright can make people feel more proud after a success.
The findings could be transformative for a better understanding of mental health care, they argued.
His new approach, deemed ‘harm-minimisation’, is already widely used for substance misuse.
It aims to curb potentially harmful consequences by providing patients with an alternative to going cold turkey.
But critics argue that it may send out mixed messages and doesn’t help people to kick their addictions.
Giving self-harmers sterile cutting implements and education on how to injure more safely could drive down death rates, Mr Sullivan claims.
It will allow patients to understand what causes their behaviour and enable them to develop alternative coping strategies.
But he insists the measures are strictly for those whose lives are in immediate danger.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4211564/Depressed-patients-allowed-self-harm.html