Why is it that people cut themselves?
Question:
Answers:
i think for attention
probably suicide attempt or seeking for help
They do it hoping someone come to help them with there unhappy life talk to them.
my ex girlfriend used to cut herself and I always asked her why. She said that the physical pain was less than the emotional pain and when she cut herself she was distracted from the emotional pain. She would have to bandage herself and then she would usually sleep after losing blood.
edit: Saphire Rose, the girl broke up with me because I tried to talk her out of cutting herself one night when she was upset about something I thought was petty. I thought I was helping, but apparently she didn't think so and ended the relationship. My point is that I don't think there is a set formula of what to say.
I just met a girl who cut her arms all up
she is very depressed and suicidle..
she said it was a way she balanced out
her pain in her real life situations..
I just hugged her.. because that has to
be some painful ****... what do you say
to a person who does that?
people say it relives stress, because they dont want to cry. some of my really good friends did it, but they stopped. they always sed it relieved them and stuff. i realy dont know
Different people have different reasons.
Some do it for the attention, while others do it to feel whats reality and what is not. Other people feel that cutting themselves will make them feel better in some way.
i would say about 90% of people do it for attention maybe not for soemone to feel sorry for them all the time but for someone to realize they are in pain and are seeking help...then 5% of the time the person truly wants to die and there can be variuos reasons for doing it this way..so someone can find them like this or it feels good (a sense of relief)..the the last 5% of people are really sick and need mental help b/c they find joy in hurting...its crazy but true
well, most people do things that don't solve much. persons who engage in self mutilation do so for various reasons. it could be autovampirism, or severe depression.
It's become a fad. It's a good way to get attention. People claim it "turns emotional pain into physical pain and provides release," and they bleed out their sorrows. But, being in high school, I've seen that most people who do it just do it in hopes of someone noticing so they get pity and for people to think they are interesting. And the TV specials and magazine articles about it just feed the popularity.
Some of my friends used to cut themselves and they said it was better to take the pain out on yourself than holding it in. They also have said it was relieving...
Why? I really don't know.
It really doesnt make sence to ppl who have never cut before. i used to never understand it either. but then i tried it and now im addicted. causing yourself physical pain releases endorpines, which makes you feel better emotionally. whenever i feel depressed or angry, i cut myself and i feel numb inside, i dont feel the anger and i dont feel the sadness, it is a wonderful feeling, it is easy to see why ppl get addicted to this. after cutting for a while, you dont even feel the physical pain anymore. all you can see is the blood, and that makes you feel good. if you could take away the emotional pain that you feel, wouldnt you want to do it? if all it takes is a few cuts in your skin, isnt that easy to do? i dont expect you to truely understand unless you do it, and i am begging you to never start, it is hell to stop, and quite frankly, i really dont care if i ever stop. o, and cutting is not even close to the same as a suicide attempt. actually it has stopped me from killing myself several times, cutting is to make you feel better, not to die.
i'm not a cutter but some of the kids i work with are.i have asked a few of them about it before.they tell me that they hurt so bad on the inside that when they cut its like a release for them from the pain they carry within.they are not trying to commit suicide.or to get attention.at times they do it due to self hate.they feel dead inside and when they cut they feel the pain and know that they are still alive.cutting is a part of a disorder called body dysmorphia (sp)
Maybe some do for attention, but not all! I used to be a cutter in my late teens and now counsel young people who do this. For many people (including myself), it was a way of releasing the pain I was experiencing inside. I didn't know how to express my hurt verbally or physically. It was more of an outlet. Your right, it doesn't solve anything psycologically, but as I said, it's like an outlet. Some people turn to drugs, others alcohol, others physically express their pain, but for those who can't talk about it, this is just a way of coping with things. I am a happy healthy adult now and have learnt to cope with things obviously very differently.. Being able to open up and trust people was a major turning point as too was growth in myself. It's not about attention. I hid it very well. I didn't want people to know, because that would draw attention to me and as I said before, I couldn't verbally express my inner pain. The issues that cause people to cut are very serious at times.
Relieve mental anguish.
i cut because when i cut i dont feel the pain any more
in a sick way it feels good
but ino it wrong
Well they cut for different reasons. Some cut to get a relief of the stress and pressure that they are feeling. The problem with that is that the more you cut. The relief gets shorter and you have to cut more. A lot of the time you do not feel the pain from cutting yourself, and usually the blood does not brother them. They do it to get that relief, they really need to find a more healthy way of coping with what ever is going on with them. Some times they see people that no one else sees, and they cut to save those people, just a drop of blood can do that. I was a cutter, and i cut for a lot of reasons, but i found that i would have to cut more and more to get the relief,, cause it got shorter after a time. Also when someone feels that they have done something wrong, that is one why they will punish themselfs. There is so much to the cutting, that i would have to write you a book on why they do it. As i said you usually do not feel any pain when you cut, cause the pain you have without cutting is greater then cutting itself.
the very first time i cut was for attention and i regreated it ,,you see i got abused at 12 right no-body would listen i tryed everywhere for help and my mind went blank next mintue i was cutting myself then all of sudden everyone wanted to listen to me,,,what a shame cos then for ten years all i did was cut and overdose,, what it was for me was the fact if i cut deep all the bad feeling inside me would come out and give me hope for soem reason at the time ,,i only ever did once or twice for attention that was it but what else could i do no body listen to me ,,,, anyhow now iam ex self harmer i wouldnt like to go back there either but no-one knows what can happen in the futrue iam at high risk for breakdowns all the tiem but i live my life now for my kids and husband if bad **** happen now i just think theres always somebody worse of them me and it helps and also my lovely kids keep me through the bad times,,, people who self harm not werdios or anything like that its something we get our selfs into becuase we belive it helps our pain but it doesnt help and i would advice anyone that wants to do it nopt to bother all that happens its scares every where and more diffeent doctors there is help for people out there,, also evetually the doctors at hospital will only treat you for so long or make you wait around hours before stitcing you these days,,, i just say seek help where ever you can and talk to someone becuase self dsoesnt make it right you just think it doesn but ity doesnt it also cause more upset esp to the people around you watching you slip away into something that could evetually kill you you know like blood poisioning etc,,, hope this help hun
Here are some excerpts from previous similar questions that I've answered that you may find helpful:
There are multiple reasons why people self-mutilate and each case needs to be explored individually. The most common reason is that it occurs in order to induce a dissociative state and assists people who have been traumatized with achieving a state of emotional numbness and you hear it described as soothing for them. The physiological basis for it stems from the release of endorphins-the brain's natural painkillers-which function much like opiates and dull the experience of emotional pain. Other reasons include the opposite rationale-people who feel numb emotionally and who have shut down will self-mutilate in order to feel something and remember they are alive. Some people, particularly those who are in abusive situations, injure themselves as a way to exert control over when and how the pain is experienced. Others do it for self-punishment and feel relief from guilt or shame and see the letting of blood as a way to purge themselves of guilt. It may be a way of re-enacting and attempting to master early traumatic experiences This often happens during a dissociative state where people are recalling experiences which were traumatizing and they feel a need to punish/purge themselves for what they often mistakenly believe they have done wrong. There are also folks who do it as a way to cope with unrelenting chronic physical pain from other sources as it creates an alternative pain that distracts them from the chronic pain (think of the principle behind how a TENS unit works). In more rare instances it can be a response to psychotic states where folks are responding to command hallucinations or believe they are purging themselves from some evil inside them. There are other less common reasons, depending on the form of self-mutilation (eye enucleation, castration, etc.) that tend to be symbolic in nature. But most commonly it is done in response to increased feelings of tension with which the individual cannot cope and it becomes a way for them to dissociate their emotional pain and achieve an emotional numbing. The goal of treatment is to fully understand the reasons that sustain the behavior and in the latter case (the most common) to help people develop affect tolerance and the ability to cope with and soothe their emotional pain in healthier ways.
Why Do People Self-Injure?
The Purpose Self-Injury Serves
The alteration or destruction of body tissue may be regarded on its surface (both literally and figuratively) as a morbid behavior on the one hand, and as a self-help behavior on the other (Favazza and Conterio 1988). We all have methods of coping with stress, whether it is emotional, physical or psychological. Coping is a behavior, which an individual utilizes to get through stressful, and difficult times as best they can. And sometimes the methods we use are extreme, perhaps excessive in comparison to the original stress. Self-injury is an example of an extreme method, but a method that, nonetheless, serves its purpose. Mentally ill self-injurers have an increased risk of suicide, although self-injury itself in not a failed attempt at suicide. It is frequently mistaken for a suicidal gesture, but there is a clear distinction between repetitive self- injury and suicide attempts. Self-injury is intended not to kill, but rather to relieve unbearable emotional pain and many survivors regard it, paradoxically, as a form of self-preservation (Herman 1992). The reasoning behind self-injury is diverse and by no means the same for all self- injurers. Self-injurers may give a single reason for their behavior, but, more commonly, their reasons are multiple and sometimes, on the surface, seemingly conflicting.
1. RELIEF FROM OVERWHELMING EMOTIONS
2. PHYSICAL EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONAL PAIN
3. UNREALITY, NUMBNESS, AND DISSOCIATION
4. SELF-PUNISHMENT AND SELF-HATE
5. SELF-NURTURING
I recently found out that a very close friend of mine is a Self-injurer or what most people will call a "SI" or a cutter. Since then I have done a little bit of reading and have found several things to be common in peoples blogs and research.
People cut themselves because they feel numb. A lot of times there is too much emotion pinned inside and they have to manifest the emotional pain with a physical one. Other times they feel like they being a "scarrer" is the only way that they can successfully express their emotions. There are people that have never learned how to express their emotions in a "healthy and positive" way and so they cope with their various intense emotions by cutting on themselves. There have been many "Hollywood" stars that were or are cutters. My personal friend is a cutter because she says there is no other way to express the pain that she is feeling emotionally and because it is her way of not feeling as numb. Cutting is usually a sign of depression. Sometimes it is the beginnings of suicidal thoughts.
My advice for anyone that knows a cutter is do some research and learn how to talk to them. There are ways to talk to a person that is a SI and let them know that you are concerned and want to help them. The biggest mistake, however is to tell them that the shouldn't do it. This makes them feel even more alienated from the world and at times becomes a precursor of more acute cutting sessions or even suicide.
More Questions & Answers...