Clean bladesmystictravelerFebruary 22 2006, 09:35:03 UTC
Although I'm highly inclined to agree with your point of view, but I'd still give those nurses the virtue of doubt. I don't know about you, but personally I was never in their place and I don't know why they'd find it better that way. (I wouldn't trust the media in conveying their point of view accurately enough either)
The analogy between giving heroin addicts good heroin and harmers clean blades is valid and actually ok. Isn't this what happens in addiction asylums? You give them "clean" heroin (clean blades) to prevent other unwanted side effects till you cure/treat the original problem.
Re: Clean bladespurplefolkFebruary 22 2006, 20:40:41 UTC
(The article mentioned nurses that refused to do it, btw.)
There's a difference in giving an addict a drug so they won't collapse physically. Preventing a self-harmer from harming isn't going to produce unwanted physical side effects from withdrawl.
I'm not denying it's an addiction, but since this is a psychologically driven addiction, I feel it's important for the self-harmers to start to rely on other coping mechanisms if they're going to get better. I don't think psychological addictions necessarily have to be treated as if they were physical. Intuitively, I want to say that the focus should be more on therapy and less on giving them a "fix" (be that blades or Prozac).
Re: Clean bladesmystictravelerFebruary 22 2006, 21:50:14 UTC
Hmm.. you definitely know better than me, but don't you think that behind this psychological addiction there is disturbance in the chemicals of the brain as well? Errm.. how do you distinguish between psychological and physical illness? (Excuse my neuro-bio-physio-chemical ignorance ;P)
And true, I do agree that one should focus on the treatment instead of a "fix," but the treatment is a process that takes time.. how would you deal with those self-harmers during the therapy course? Maybe they found out -according to their statistics- that overall the results would be better if they let those self-harmers have their little fix.
Comments 3
The analogy between giving heroin addicts good heroin and harmers clean blades is valid and actually ok. Isn't this what happens in addiction asylums? You give them "clean" heroin (clean blades) to prevent other unwanted side effects till you cure/treat the original problem.
Reply
There's a difference in giving an addict a drug so they won't collapse physically. Preventing a self-harmer from harming isn't going to produce unwanted physical side effects from withdrawl.
I'm not denying it's an addiction, but since this is a psychologically driven addiction, I feel it's important for the self-harmers to start to rely on other coping mechanisms if they're going to get better. I don't think psychological addictions necessarily have to be treated as if they were physical. Intuitively, I want to say that the focus should be more on therapy and less on giving them a "fix" (be that blades or Prozac).
Reply
And true, I do agree that one should focus on the treatment instead of a "fix," but the treatment is a process that takes time.. how would you deal with those self-harmers during the therapy course? Maybe they found out -according to their statistics- that overall the results would be better if they let those self-harmers have their little fix.
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