The downward spiral worries me too. I am not really surprised by it. In grade school there was one boy who would stick the protractor point into the skin on his thumb or finger and waggle it around, dangling from the tip stuck under a layer of skin.
It moved on to kids bringing pins to school and doing this. It was mostly the guys, and they thought it was "cool". I don't know if any of them ever went further, but I remember the one boy doing it with the protractor, and then several other boys also doing it.
I am kind of afraid to ask what next.
My kids have ALL been told that if I discover them doing this kind of thing, not only will we see the therapist more than whatever the current amount it, they will ALSO go to the pediatrician and have tetanus shots, any other shots the doctor thinks is needed, AND any medical tests the docs think is wise.
I don't say this as a punishment, although the child will be responsible for the doctor bill, but to help my kids see that this kind of thing can be very dangerous disease wise.
and since my oldest started cutting (Wiz has stopped as of over a year ago) I made sure to keep those alcohol prep pads around. Not obvious, but there. I also have bottles of peroxide, etc...
The alcohol pads are more portable. They can be carried in a pocket and if the urge to cut is too strong to resist, well, at least he can clean whatever he is cutting with, the skin before he cuts and even the area after if he wants even more pain.
I very very much do NOT want any child of mine (or anyone else's child for that matter) to cut, or embed, or whatever they do next, but if they are going to do it they can at least try to take some standard precautions.
I know that kids sometimes cut as a group activity, at least around here. Several of them will do it together. Our YMCA stopped its teen program because the Teen leader found several teens in the locker room all cutting. They only had ONE razor blade and they were sharing it.
That just terrifies me. Flat out. That was when I went and bought the alcohol pads. I told the kids it was for my glasses - that the pads were cheaper than the ones from the eyeglass place, but were just as effective.
