How do you know when to cut and how often do you do so?

[xXl0sth0peXx]

So I'm just curious how you know when i's time to cut, or if you just do it or what. And how many times

For me, I kinda just get a rush through out my entire body and I just know I have to. I do it many times a day.. depends.. lots at night.. and sometimes lots through out the day.. depends..

Just curious how other people are and if I'm all alone.

[Amaryllis]

I don't know if I actually know when I'm meant to do it... I mean, you feel like shit, you can't cope, you want to jump off a goddamn roof, you want your parents and relatives and friends to burn in hell, your eating disorder is screwing with your head, you feel angry, frustrated, miserable, the words are replaying in your head... Whatever.

I can't cope. I cut.

I don't know how many times I do it. I don't do it for fun. I do it when I need to. I do it when all else fails. I do it when I must.

And hun, you are definitely not all alone. A lot of people cut. A lot the way you do. Self-harm is spreading. I think partly because the other kids know about it now... So some of them do it just because they feel bad so they "try it out", to see if it works. Really though, not worth it.

[UnknownError]

For me, if Im really angry/upset my arms start to tingly/burn slightly. It's probably pyschological but thats when I feel the need to.

[Love.Hate]

I know i feel a need to do it, but nothing really triggers it much as such.. just when im having a bad day and feel out of control really. Thats when i do it.... and i do it normally until i physically cant take anymore pain.

[Punk_Kid]

I have been on and off cutting for a little while now ever since I started again after 8 months of being clean:/ Its just when I cant take it anymore and I have free time on my hands. Usually I'm up in my room with nothing to do, then I get to thinking about life and everything else and I just reach for them and cut until I want to stop. And if anyone that reads this has recently started cutting, stop. It's not worth and it really, I mean really, can cause future problems if certain people become aware of it.

[NobodysCupOf Tea]

For me, it's when it all gets too much. When I'm alone in my room at night, j can sit there for hours tormenting myself, gearing myself up until I have to releases it somehow.

For me it's not a sudden urge, it's somthing I talk myself into every time... Which is really messed up.

Also I don't count until I'm done. Sometimes it'll be 3, sometimes it'll be 50 till I feel 'okay' again.

[Leonard Axel]

sometimes ill get the urge when I look at scissors or something but mostly when im angry, when im pissed the fuck off ill just slice my arm. It always calms me down and feels so much better.

[amor2429]

Most of the time I want to, regardless of whether it's an absolutely horrible day or a magnificently beautiful day for me.
Often, I find myself wanting to, I walk to where I will do it, and then I find that I've done it. Like I blank out and skip time?
Sometimes I decide to and I just do it.
I don't generally even attempt at stopping myself, I'm not sure why, because I don't want to SH. :S

[ShadowGirl]

It depends. I cut 1) as punishment 2) when I'm super stressed out or 3) when im depressed and feeling numb. When I feel overwhelmed or like I can't deal with something, I cut.

[xXl0sth0peXx]

I don't know if I actually know when I'm meant to do it... I mean, you feel like shit, you can't cope, you want to jump off a goddamn roof, you want your parents and relatives and friends to burn in hell, your eating disorder is screwing with your head, you feel angry, frustrated, miserable, the words are replaying in your head... Whatever.

I can't cope. I cut.

I don't know how many times I do it. I don't do it for fun. I do it when I need to. I do it when all else fails. I do it when I must.

And hun, you are definitely not all alone. A lot of people cut. A lot the way you do. Self-harm is spreading. I think partly because the other kids know about it now... So some of them do it just because they feel bad so they "try it out", to see if it works. Really though, not worth it.

I don't think I've ever seen a post so much like me.. That's like.. basically what I feel..
That last paragraph made me feel better.. that I'm not alone..
I know i feel a need to do it, but nothing really triggers it much as such.. just when im having a bad day and feel out of control really. Thats when i do it.... and i do it normally until i physically cant take anymore pain.

That's also like me.. I do it until I can't take it..
For me, it's when it all gets too much. When I'm alone in my room at night, j can sit there for hours tormenting myself, gearing myself up until I have to releases it somehow.

I do that too.. I guess everyone kinda does it when it gets to be too much.
sometimes ill get the urge when I look at scissors or something but mostly when im angry, when im pissed the fuck off ill just slice my arm. It always calms me down and feels so much better.

oh good.. I'm not alone here.. if I see a knife.. if i see anything sharp.. it triggers sometimes..
For me, if Im really angry/upset my arms start to tingly/burn slightly. It's probably pyschological but thats when I feel the need to.

I think I feel a really similar sensation that you do.. I'm not really sure what I feel.. but I feel something..

And to everyone else who replied, thank you. it helps me a lot to know i'm not alone.

[bambino]

It started off trying to stop feeling numb when I was severely depressed at 15/16.
Now it is punishment, punishment for not being good enough smart enough pretty enough etc. Once I've 'told myself off' I feel like I can get on with the day- I've been punished now I have to work extra hard without a break, I can't eat until this is all done, then I can relax-and if something else goes wrong- punishment again.
If I want to go out but feel too ugly, I cut so if people stare at me funny I can think 'its okay people ive already hurt myself for being ugly' so i dont feel bad about inflicting my face on them.

Sometimes I will get a sudden urge though, like if my family says something or someone i know upsets me. I dont really know how to deal..so I just cut.

[Megson]

The urges are always in the back of my mind, all day. I've been trying to quit (day 4 so far) but I usually cut myself later in the day when I take a shower at night. So no one sees, and so the bleeding can stop. It was an amazing release at first after a long day of stress and agony.

Cat (bambino), I feel exactly the way you do. I hate myself, and I always feel like I need to punish myself for my flaws. For being fat, for being ugly, for being weird, for being stupid...Like maybe if I punish myself for it, I'll learn how to change it for the better. But nothing ever changes. I just wind up with more scars and hating myself even more. So I'm striving to quit.