Where do such urges come from?
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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.
It can be different for some people. I have a friend that explained her case to me. She has had a lot of bad things happen to her and often times when she is alone, her memories come back to haunt her and cutting herself is the only way of bringing her mind back to the "real world". She calls it "slipping into the zone".
I think its attention. I'm not a professional mental health worker so forgive my ignorance here, but I think this has a lot to do with a basic narcissism that evolves around a need for attention. And when somebody can't do something positive to get attention, they will do something self-centered and destructive to get it. Maybe I am callous and uncaring, but I don't have a lot of patience for these types of people. They want everybody else's efforts and energy focused on them. It is a form of selfishness.
emo people cut themselves to get ridof their problems because they tend to concetrate on the pain rather than their issues. but in my case i just take a puff from that dro and theyre alll gone ;-D
usually depression causes them to hurt themselves or the fact that they think they are nothing and that noone cares about them...
I believe for many people it is something that they can control. Some pain in life we cannot control but this we can. I never cut myself but I would burn myself in bets with others.
my opinon, fear.. most of these people probably need to overcome some kind of fobia or fix whats wrong in thier lives. if they were happy they prolly wouldnt do this... but im no doctor
Science has shown us that cutting releases endomorphins, which produce a calming effect. So many cutters cut to get calm. Eventually, it becomes an addiction because the act of cutting calms the person.
Most cutters don't cut for attention. They don't tell people about it and they don't show people.
It is calming.almost soothing to the cutters.
Lack of control, fear of abandonment, wanting to control the uncontrollable, an inane urge to simply feel something ~ anything ~ impulse, addiction... I could go on, but I won't.
These are some of the issues I face when I S/H. There is so much stigma attached to this action, as most people don't see it as an 'appropriate' way of dealing with life's issues. Granted, it may not be appropriate, but sometimes it sure feels like the only damn way out.
I'm not sure about others, but I certainly don't do it for attention, I go out of my way to cover it up so no one notices, or do it in places where no one will see but me (stomach, thighs, chest etc).
I'm not sure I can offer you much insight, as everyone is different and does it for their own reasons. This is just me and the challenges I face.
Hope it helps ☺
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