my daughter self mutilates...help?

Question

what do i do?...punish her or what...y does she do this?

Answer 1

Please do not punish her! She is actually punishing herself and trying to cope with her emotions. What you need to do is get her to a psychiatrist to find out why she has the need to harm herself. Some reasons are trauma, eating disorders, low self-esteem or perfectionism.

A psychiatrist will provide psychotherapy to help her define her feelings and to cope with them in healthier ways so that the mutilation ends. Please be aware that he might also put her on some anti-anxiety medications as the medication sometime will alleviate the feelings causing this enough to limit how much she it doing it. The medication alone won't stop it which is why therapy is essential.

This is not attention getting behavior! This truly is an expression of the inability to cope with some emotional distress. Please get her to a psychiatrist and let me know how things work out.