<font color="green">(I won't list the then diagnostic criteria proposed,as I'm sure it's been dignified differently now. I'm trying to update some of this with current ideas as I go along...) <font color="blue">Self injurious behavior is an outward display of rage with which the person is unable to cope. The act of self injury (which shows in forms of self mutilation such as cutting, eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, piercing, and substance abuse) is not the disorder. Self injury is the symptom of a problem. Therapy needs to focus on understanding and easing the originating problem for the self abuse to abate. The behavior can become addicting, just as any addiction which changes the emotional state.