Study of Habituation and Personal Perspective among Patients with Nonsuicidal Self-injury with Current Suicide Attempt

Aims and background: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is a form of intentional self-harm and is a risk factor for suicidal behavior.Various functions of NSSI, such as habituation and the impact on a patient's life, are not explored.Therefore, there is a need to investigate these characteristics of NSSI in patients who were attempting suicide at a tertiary care facility.Materials and methods: Of the 100 patients with suicide attempts, 36 with NSSI were assessed for perceived life interference, functions, habituation, and experiences related to NSSI.Results: Nearly 78% of patients were female and under 30 years old.The most common cause of initiation of NSSI was affect imbalance.Most of the participants agreed that they have an intense urge to harm themselves (80%), which is difficult to control (61%); they progressively increased the severity of injury (80%), and it has a significant impact on their life (90%).These findings were significantly higher in repeaters (≥5 instances of self-injurious behavior) than in non-repeaters (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Our study findings support that NSSI behavior is not uncommon among psychiatric inpatients with suicide attempts.Understanding NSSI functioning, such as habituation, craving, tolerance, and affect imbalance, helps us to design psychological and pharmacological interventions.