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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffUnless you want to recover from self-injury and disclose your behavior, it can be difficult for a doctor or therapist to diagnose self-injury. Sometimes self-injury is discovered accidentally. For instance, a doctor doing a routine medical examination may notice signs, such as scars or fresh injuries.
In any case, there's no specific diagnostic test for self-injury. Diagnosis is based on a physical and mental evaluation. During an initial evaluation for self-injury, a health care provider may ask you such questions as:
- When your self-injury began
- How often you engage in self-injury
- What types of self-injury you use
- What seems to trigger your self-injury
- What emotional issues you face
- What social networks or relationships you have
- What previous treatment, if any, you've had
- Your feelings about the future
- Whether you have thoughts of suicide
A definitive diagnosis may require evaluation by a mental health provider with experience in treating self-injury. A mental health provider may also evaluate you for other mental illnesses that may accompany self-injury, such as depression or personality disorders.
