Emotional Self Mutilation(C)
ESM in a RAD sufferer is just like a person suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder in the sense that they cut themselves to express pain, anguish and other emotions. It is a continuous cycle that doesn’t stop until the triggered event stops or there is some kind of “intervention”. For children and adults this may mean a trip to the hospital or therapeutic redirection. For those parents and RAD patients, this graphic is meant to physically show you how the triggered event begins the vicious cycle of depression and rage. Once that rage and depression has been exposed negative actions will then begin to appear (Violence, sexual deviance *to include molestation*, fire starting, ect.) Once those variables are in place, the subconscious mind begins the process of grief and remorse after the negative act has subsided.
This act of grief and remorse only adds to the depression/rage that has already accumulated and starts the process all over again. This is quite literally the rabbit hole. The sufferer loses the cognitive ability to rationalize individual negative and positive emotions as the rage/depression worsens, which in turn leads to more negative behavior. Soon, the path to recovery from this flat spin of emotions deepens and the cycle is complete.
Emotional Self Mutilation is the complete cycle that seems to cycle over and over again cause ADDITIONAL emotional trauma to the RAD sufferer. This form of self mutilation is hard to combat simply because of it’s entomology. The sufferer doesn’t know that in effect, they are re-traumatizing themselves in a way that the outside world, themselves included cannot see. All they can see is the result of their negative actions based on depression, grief and recycled emotional trauma. The negative reaction by parents, school officials, the court system and police officers only deepens the sufferer’s lack of self worth and depression.
Please bear in mind that a very important factor in this equation is the “Trigger Event”. This even can be anything from A/V stimuli, perceived or actual loss or many other variables that the RAD sufferer may encounter. Triggered events are surrounded by subconscious trauma that the sufferer has endured. Self esteem also plays a large role in this equation as well.
The lack of self worth can supersede a triggered event and lead directly to extreme depression that triggers negative action. Note: The self esteem scale (Far right) lessens as the trigger event meet with the self esteem scale. A triggered event can lessen the sufferer’s self esteem to the extreme that, in many cases will lead to depression and a negative act. The lack of self esteem and self worth can increase the chance of a triggered event happening
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