why do people hurt themself?

[logan fields]

my life isnt great and im not happy a lot of the time and i even think i get depressed sometimes but i never think about hurting myself because enough other people already do that. so i was just wondering what gets a kid to the point where he or she wants to hurt themself and how can that possibly make things better for them? im not asking because im judging anyone who does but because i really care and i want to understand and i hope thats ok.

i hurt so bad when i hear that another kid committed suicide because they couldnt take life anymore and it hurts me inside to to hear about other kids hurting themself and i guess i just want to understand.

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

Certain people are fighters..Others are not. Getting to the point of first cutting, burning, or anything else is something that builds up. I used to cut, I stopped after I had to play a guidance role to my friends little brother. It gave me something to hold on to, and even though I don't see him anymore, I still don't cut. I grew and learned how to over come it. Self Harm is at times a person's only release, or so they feel. It, like all releases, becomes addictive.

[InsertDildoHere]

my life isnt great and im not happy a lot of the time and i even think i get depressed sometimes but i never think about hurting myself because enough other people already do that. so i was just wondering what gets a kid to the point where he or she wants to hurt themself and how can that possibly make things better for them? im not asking because im judging anyone who does but because i really care and i want to understand and i hope thats ok.

i hurt so bad when i hear that another kid committed suicide because they couldnt take life anymore and it hurts me inside to to hear about other kids hurting themself and i guess i just want to understand.

I think people hurt themselves because it's their way of expressing emotion.

Not all cutters are suicidal. I actually think people should "lighten up" on the subject.

I think society has turned it into some type of "horrible thing" when it can actually help people cope with stress.

I'm seriously not being a troll here, all of the negative attention the cutters get just add to the emotional pain.

That's what really causes suicide.

[Fiction]

Cutting is like a release, as has been said above. I'm not really sure how it works, but for me it calms me down, and I guess gives me something to focus on other than whatever thoughts are in my head at the time.

It is addictive, and did for a while turn into something I couldn't live without. Back in February I decided to try and stop cutting and get rid of my blades. That finally pushed me over the edge and I ended up attempting to kill myself.

[FuzzyLittleNightmare]

I think people do it for different reasons...sometimes they just feel numb and want to feel something even if it is pain; sometimes there are so many emotions and pain in their heads that directing it to their body makes it hurt a little less. For me it was a combination of both and also because I was always a fighter. I would fight back and get angry and win arguments and fights all the time. So when my pain was coming from inside me, I guess I fought myself...

[Bath]

Everybody copes with stuff differently. Everybody has different personalities. Usually the first self injury is to just see what it's like, if it helps, and/or (not always) in an act of rage or during an anxiety attack or something. It varies person to person.

Some people do it as a cry for help. Some people do it because it makes them few alright again. It could be a combination of different things.

After a while, it becomes an addiction because it releases endorphins in the brain to try and protect the body. So not only is it a release now, but it calms you down and makes you happy.

It's not worth the addiction, though. It's not worth all the other shit that comes along with it.

[Haleyzmont]

sometimes its the only way people feel they can release anger

[logan fields]

hey i just want everybody to know that i wasnt making fun of it or trying to make anyone feel worse about cutting i was just curious and also i just really care about people and want to understand. thanks for your answers and i hope i didnt hurt anyones feelings because i didnt want to.

[AppealToReason]

I don't know about others, but I do it to keep my problems to myself. SH is comforting to me and I don't have to bother others with my sob stories when I do it.
Plus, it keeps me sane. When I don't SH, I feel worse than when I do SH. It's a horrible thing to go through and I wish no one would have to deal with it, but...yea.

[Megson]

It helps me to stay strong, in a sense. When I feel like I'm going to break down, cutting helps me calm down and get back on top of things.

Other times, its just an impulse to emotional pain. Since I started cutting, my first thought when I'm upset is to find my razor. It really works, too. It gives me something else to focus on, plus there's also some sort of science behind it that I can't quite remember. Something to do with physical pain overshadowing the emotional pain.

[ryantombs]

mine is coping with emotional pain and basically focusing on something else other than that. i feel trapped in my mind and i cant get out and i turned to cutting. i only did it for about 3 months but in tht time i felt myself getting more and more attached to it and craving it wen i got up set i have been about 3 weeks clean now but every day every single day at minimum 5 triggers that i have to fight many times worse. its a terrible thing to do. i dont wish it upon any one. but if your looking to help someone you know. in my opinion talk to them. let them come to you and if they go to you DONT TELL ANYONE including your or their parents (except in danger of sucicide and stuff or serious serious injury) i was not terrible and was actually stopped and the person i told told my parents made it 100x worse so yea... just be there for them hug them and basically BE A DAMN FRIEND (sorry for the word but there arent many these days haha)

[Aubrie]

It helped me cope. It was making my outsides look like my insides. I was a very broken girl, filled with emotional scars that run deeper than any physical scar I could ever make. I lived pretty much in constant pain. The only way that I could forget about the emotional pain was to inflict physical pain. I felt like I deserved the pain. It felt amazing at first, but over time it snowballed. It's kind of like you're at the top of a mountain and an avalanche starts. No matter how fast you run, you can't get away from it. Eventually, the snow catches up with you, and you're buried. Then you have to dig your way up from the bottom of the snow. But on the other hand, you kind of don't want to because the snow is cold and it feels good. It sucks.

[Amaryllis]

For me, it's mostly because it's "real" pain. People don't see the pain you feel on the inside, but if my outsides look horrid, that must mean I'm in a lot of pain, right? Not that I ever show anyone so... I want people to look. I want people to know. But were they to ask, I would lie.

I also do it as a punishment. And to do to myself what I can't do to anyone else. What I want to do to my parents, I do to myself.

Also to let go of all the anger and hate I guess. And you can't really help anyone who doesn't want to be helped. You can be there for them, though. Be there for them through it all. Tell them to call you each time they have an urge to cut. To be honest, though... I wouldn't recommend it. You may end up cutting, too.

It's easy to join the club.

On a side note! It's been a little over a week since I last cut which is amazing for me :)

I read this in someone's sig and it describes why I cut quite well. I do this thing where, what you do to me, I do to myself. And I hit harder than you ever could.

[logan fields]

is it like you have all this pain inside and nobody notices so you cut and its like a cry for help or something like that? and when you look at yourself do you feel like your like not worthy of anything good so its like a way of punishing yourself and that way it makes you feel better? the reason i ask that is because i feel that way sometimes but i dont cut and i was thinking that maybe feeling like this is why some people start to cut but i dont know much about it and that is why i asked. thanks for your answers because i think your brave to share that with us.

[LonelyOleander]

my life isnt great and im not happy a lot of the time and i even think i get depressed sometimes but i never think about hurting myself because enough other people already do that. so i was just wondering what gets a kid to the point where he or she wants to hurt themself and how can that possibly make things better for them? im not asking because im judging anyone who does but because i really care and i want to understand and i hope thats ok.

i hurt so bad when i hear that another kid committed suicide because they couldnt take life anymore and it hurts me inside to to hear about other kids hurting themself and i guess i just want to understand.

Ha. I don't even know why I used to cut, it was a way to escape the pain. The weird thing is, it's addicting. And as far as suicide goes, when you feel like you can't go on anymore, you end it.

[Blue63]

I cut far more than I should, but have no intention of suicide; the two aren't always compatible.

To answer your most recent question: No, it's not really a punishment. When I cut myself, it's not that I feel unworthy of life or of myself. I either feel complete numbness or a nagging pain. If it's because I feel empty, the cutting shocks me back into place. If it's because of pain, like Fiction said, it calms me down and gives me something you should focus on.

I started to cut half out of curiosity, half because I didn't really know where to turn. It was after a long fight with my parents, after struggling really hard with depression, that I tried it. When I did it, I realized that it simply felt better than anything else. It just felt good. I know that is a massive over-simplification, but hopefully it answers your questions!

[DismaliciouSx]

I think people do it for different reasons...sometimes they just feel numb and want to feel something even if it is pain; sometimes there are so many emotions and pain in their heads that directing it to their body makes it hurt a little less. For me it was a combination of both and also because I was always a fighter. I would fight back and get angry and win arguments and fights all the time. So when my pain was coming from inside me, I guess I fought myself...

I could not have said it better myself, the fighting part described me to a T. Brought back many memories