Michael Jackson’s youngest brother, Randy took to his Twitter account to complain about his 15-year-old niece Paris Jackson’s lengthy stay in an undisclosed psychiatric facility.
“I dont like that Paris is still in this facility. It’s not right. She’s been there much too long,” Randy tweeted on Tuesday.
“She is not psychotic. There is no reason for her to be in a psychiatric hospital this long away from her family,” Randy fumed in a series of tweets.
Paris was hospitalized in June after what celebrity website People.com called a possible suicide attempt. According to People.com, Paris “cut her wrists with a kitchen knife and took as many as 20 ibuprofen tablets.”
Paparazzi photos taken of Paris prior to the incident shows superficial scars on her arms that are consistent with Cutting, a severe psychological disorder that requires longterm intensive psychiatric care.
Clearly he doesn’t understand the complexities of treating a teenager diagnosed with cutting and self-injury behavior.
Most black families don’t understand cutting disorder. They think the teenager is cutting herself for attention. When in fact the cutting is a cry for help. The pain that the the teen feels inside can only be eased by cutting themselves. Black families rarely seek psychological help for their teens who display this behavior. The cutting behavior is allowed to continue untreated until the behavior escalates and the teen commits suicide.
According to WebMD, cutting is not a suicide attempt, though it may look and seem that way. Cutting is a self-injury behavior that mimics cocaine and other drugs that release endorphins (similar to dopamine) to create a pleasurable feeling.
Over time, the cutting typically escalates — occurring more often, with more and more cuts each time, David Rosen, MD, MPH tells WebMD. Just like a drug, more cutting is required to feel the same effect.
Cutting typically begins at age 14. But the disorder has been observed in children as young as 10.
Psychotherapy should be the first step in treatment, says Wendy Lader, PhD, clinical director for SAFE Alternatives. However, the girl or boy must be ready for treatment, says Rosen.
The SAFE web site has a list of doctors who have been to her lectures, who want to work with self-injurers. With other therapists, ask if they have any expertise in working with self-injurers. “Some therapists have a fear reaction to it. The therapist needs to be comfortable with it,” she advises.
