ADOLESCENT NONSUICIDAL SELF-INJURY

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), is the direct, deliberate, and sometimes dangerous, destruction of one's own body tissues without the intent to cause death. The primary goal of a person with NSSI is not to "turn off" his consciousness, but to transform it. NSSI is particularly common in adolescence, ac-counting for 17-18% in community samples and 40% or more in clinical samplesNonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), is the direct, deliberate, and sometimes dangerous, destruction of one's own body tissues without the intent to cause death. The primary goal of a person with NSSI is not to "turn off" his con-sciousness, but to transform it. NSSI is particularly common in adolescence, accounting for 17-18% in community samples and 40% or more in clinical samples. As a separate nosological unit, NSSI was included in the DSM-5 in 2013. The described case met all criteria for this diagnosis. Common symptoms of NSSI are scratching, cutting, piercing, tearing (skin, hair), etc. Male teenager, 15 years old, dropped out of school and is currently an apprentice in a jewelry workshop, where they use pointed tools. In relation to unexpected wounds, he went to the neurological clinic. During the last 3 months, he has complained of multiple scratches and scars appearing periodi-cally on the anterior wall of the abdomen and chest (bilaterally symmetrical), and the anterior surface of the right arm. The reason for them was considered by the child to be a strong, insurmountable itch and burning sensation that suddenly appeared in the above areas while sleeping, and in order to reduce it, he scratched his body intensively without waking up. As for the fresh traces of blood, he discovered them only after waking up. During the conversation, the child had poor contact, was shy, passive, has answered questions indifferently. The scars and wounds were not done by the teenager for show purposes, to attract the attention of others. Feelings of shame and embarrassment prevailed. It is known from the anamnesis that the child lost his father in tragic circumstances 2 years ago, and also his grandfather 3 month before the first episode of self-harm. The child was a left-handed, which led to the assumption that all the scratches on his body were caused by his left hand using any of in-struments from workplace.. As a separate nosological unit, NSSI was included in the DSM-5 in 2013. The described case met all criteria for this diagnosis. Common symptoms of NSSI are scratching, cutting, piercing, tearing (skin, hair), etc. Male teenager, 15 years old, dropped out of school and is currently an apprentice in a jewelry workshop, where they use pointed tools. In relation to unexpected wounds, he went to the neurological clinic. During the last 3 months, he has complained of multiple scratches and scars appearing periodi-cally on the anterior wall of the abdomen and chest (bilaterally symmetrical), and the anterior surface of the right arm. The reason for them was considered by the child to be a strong, insurmountable itch and burning sensation that suddenly appeared in the above areas while sleeping, and in order to reduce it, he scratched his body intensively without waking up. As for the fresh traces of blood, he discovered them only after waking up. During the conversation, the child had poor contact, was shy, passive, has answered questions indifferently. The scars and wounds were not done by the teenager for show purposes, to attract the attention of others. Feelings of shame and embarrassment prevailed. The child was a left-handed, which led to the assumption that all the scratches on his body were caused by his left hand using any of instruments from workplace. It is known from the anamnesis that the child lost his father in tragic circumstances 2 years ago, and also his grandfather 3 month before the first episode of self-harm. Not seeing any way out, nor solutions to the psychological conflict in the context of "I want so much, but I can't" results in highly expressed emotional tension and depression, prompting towards the only "rescue" path, that is self-damage. From intrapersonal negative reinforcement view, NSSI serves the function of diminishing negative feelings or thoughts (i.e., anger, tension)