The Silent Epidemic Analysis

The documentary that I watched is The Silent Epidemic
The Silent Epidemic explores the growing problem of self harm in Australia. The documentary explores the possible causes of why there is such an increase in rates of self harm in the past decade. In fact, it has reached epidemic proportions. The documentary explores how the brain chemistry and neural connections in the brains of those who self harm is different than those who do not. It also explains how the mechanisms behind self harm and how it originated from a survival mechanism called the fight or flight response. This documentary also explores some environmental factors that can contribute to self harm, such as parental attachment and technological advancements. The documentary also explores the stories of three young women who self harm as a way of coping from emotional pain. These stories examine why self harm is done, how they fell about doing it and why the do it. Through one of these stories, it is shown that replacing self harm with another coping technique called mindfulness can lead to changes in …show more content…
Through an explanation of how endorphins act as a natural opioid in the brain during self harming, it is shown that quitting is not as simple as it is believed to be. Relating to nursing it is important that the nurse caring for a patient that self harms know that they will require the same kind of support that someone withdrawing from opioids requires. It is fairly well understood that going cold turkey is not best for opioid withdrawal, and instead we should use drugs such as methadone to help decrease the craving. In the same manner, other activities, such as the mindfulness training that Alison took part in should be used to help with the withdrawal from self harming. It is important for nurses to draw these parallels and not just assume that it is no use to help them quit self harming or that they don’t want