Adolescence is a phase of intense emotional and social transformations, when many young people face significant psychological challenges – including social isolation and self -injury, a practice of hurting itself without suicidal intention.
One in seven adolescents is estimated to have mental suffering and that about half of these cases begin before 14 years. In addition, it is estimated that 14% of adolescents have already been self-employed at least once in their lives, using this behavior as an attempt to deal with internal anguish, such as depression, anxiety or trauma.
This type of behavior is not just an isolated symptom, but a reflection of a deep suffering that directly impacts the young man’s quality of life. Self -law can affect self -esteem, interpersonal relationships and school performance, as well as increasing the risk of suicide. No wonder, the mental health of adolescents has become a global concern in recent years worldwide, especially after Covid-19 pandemic. Studies indicate that during the health crisis, symptoms of depression increased 26% and those of anxiety grew about 10% among young people up to 19. In Brazil, the number of cases of self -injury between young people increased by 21% between 2011 and 2022.
In 2018, before the pandemic, psychologist Luiza Cesar Riani Costa, then a student at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), carried out a FAPESP -funded scientific initiation project to understand non -suicidal self -injury issues, that is, as adolescents who experienced this experience conceptualized this phenomenon and why that was happening. The results revealed that adolescents saw self -injury as a way of relieving emotional suffering, highlighting the importance of a welcoming environment to deal with psychic pain.
“At the time, the phenomenon of self -injury was relatively new in Brazil, but gained prominence after some challenges on social networks encouraged many teenagers to cut themselves. A state school in São Carlos, where we had projects, noticed the increase of cases and encouraged us to research the subject,” says Professor Diene Monique Carlos, who today works at the University of São Paulo (USP), at the Ribeirão Preto campus.
Following the work of scientific initiation, Costa continued studies on self -injury between adolescents during his master’s degree in the same university. Also funded by FAPESP, the study deepened the meaning of non -suicidal self -element.
The findings of the research became the booklet What relieves my pain: photos and experiences of teenagers which was digitally available to schools, health services and adolescence professionals. In addition, the experience was presented at the 15th Ibero-American Congress of Qualitative Research (CIAIQ2025), in Spain, and published in New Trends in Qualitative Research.
The origin of the booklet
To reach the development of the booklet, Costa started a qualitative approach research, that is, that does not presuppose a large number of people participating, since the goal was to deepen the understanding of what was happening. In all, nine teenagers were evaluated between 12 and 17 years old who were in psychic suffering, had a history of self -injury and spontaneously sought to participate in the project.
One of the highlights is that all teenagers were female – a coincidence, as boys were also invited to participate, but did not express interest. “We noticed a strong issue of present gender, so we think of another project to look especially at the boys. Why don’t they seek help?” D meant Professor Diene Carlos, advisor of the project.
Costa departed from the following question, “What relieves your pain?” And he asked the teenagers to answer the question through photographs taken by themselves, presenting other strategies they would use to go through difficult situations and cause them pain as long as it was not self -injury.
For this, the research used the photovoice methodology, a technique widely applied in vulnerability contexts, in which images are used as a form of expression to address delicate themes. “It is a methodology widely used by researchers for situations where it is difficult to talk about a particular subject,” explains Carlos.
Participants had two weeks to photograph scenes that answered the question – at the end of the deadline, Costa received 50 images. The initial idea was to discuss the photos together with the teenagers, but due to the pandemic, it was not possible (the interviews took place between March and July 2021). Therefore, the analysis of the material was done individually. The photos served as a starting point for deeper reflections, guided by questions such as: “What do you see in this photograph?”, “What motivated you to take this picture?”, “What does this image awaken you?” and “How does this relate to self -injury?”
The images portrayed scenes in nature, with pets, physical activity (such as skateboarding or bicycle), culinary moments, arts (with drawings, music, movies), affection and spirituality. After performing a reflective analysis, the teenagers themselves presented the idea of jointly building a booklet in which they could publicize the photos and what they meant as a way of drawing attention to the subject and helping other teenagers who could be suffering as well.
“Contact with the girls showed that what they were doing was more complex and deep than just creating coping strategies. They were showing totally creatively what supported them,” wrote the study author in a letter to the reader presented with the master’s public defense.
According to Carlos, when analyzing the photographs produced by adolescents, it was possible to identify common elements between them, despite individual particularities: the focus on nature, the importance of affective relationships, the presence of the family, the affection for animals, music, films and other forms of artistic expression. “We found many similarities and similarities between the images and, therefore, we concluded that this could also make sense to other teenagers. For us, this was the most beautiful moment of the research, since the original idea was not to have a booklet,” says the advisor.
The publication is available in Portuguese and English and has the potential to be an important low -cost therapeutic and educational tool, especially by using an accessible language consistent with the universe of adolescents. “Self -injury is still very present in the lives of these young people as a way of relieving pain and suffering. So this instrument can be used to think other possibilities for relief from this pain,” says Carlos.
The booklet What relieves my pain: photos and experiences of teenagers is accessible in the UFSCar institutional repository and can be consulted at: repositorio.ufscar.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/ddb95d76-9252-4e7d-90b8-96b0e805555a/content .
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This content was originally published in self -injury: young people report strategies to relieve mental suffering on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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