Event: “Self-Injury in the Adult”
Date and time: Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
Location: Newcomer Center, Room 17 at Goshen College
Cost: Free and open to the public
For more information: Contact Lora George at loraag@goshen.edu

Film and discussion about ‘self-injury in the adult’ at Goshen College Nov. 15

GOSHEN, Ind. – Approximately one percent of the U.S. population are self-injurers, intentionally inflicting non-lethal harm on themselves.

On Nov. 15 at 8 p.m., adult self-injurers and families and friends of self-injurers are invited to meet at Goshen College in Newcomer Center Room 17 to watch the educational film “Skin Deep” together, hear a personal story of a self-injurer and have the opportunity to ask questions. “We want people who struggle with self-injury to know that they are not alone,” said Lora George, a senior social work major who is planning the event and is a recovering self-injurer herself.

Self-injury may be accompanied by a range of psychiatric problems such as depression or other mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addictions, eating disorders or psychotic disorders. Self-injurers commonly report that they feel empty inside, over or under stimulated, unable to express their feelings, lonely, not understood by others and fearful of intimate relationships and adult responsibilities. Self injury is their way to cope with or relieve painful or hard- to- express feelings and is generally not a suicide attempt. But relief is temporary, and a self-destructive cycle often develops without proper treatment, according to the Self-Abuse Finally Ends (S.A.F.E.) Alternatives website.

The event is free and community members are warmly invited attend.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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