seeking attention?

[bena3217]

how has ever SH for attention? i did for a while but i realised it was the stupidst idea ever...i love attention and with my bipoler mom i dont get alot...so i did it for attention but it went terribly wrong and my friends judged me and stuff...have you ever done it for attention?

[OnlyByTheNight.]

I never have anyway and I think you would be hard pushed to find someone on this site who does it for attention.

[Mutibann]

Yeah, the first time I did it was for attention. I was trying to get my parents to get me some help with my depression. That didn't work so I stopped trying to get their attention and just continued with the cutting.

[georgiamay]

Personally, no, I've never done it for attention.

But I have to ask, what kind of attention are you talking about? There's the "look at me! I'm sad, feel sorry for me!" kind of seeking attention, and then there's the "There's no way I can explain how much I'm hurting, so I'll show you instead so you can help me."
Are both of these the same? No, they're not.

If you become depressed, and try to explain to someone how you feel, I can assure you that it's very hard, almost impossible. Sometimes, people will hurt themselves to prove to people that they do have a problem. A lot of the time, people will just think they you've got "the blues" if you tell them you're feeling depressed. Sometimes people will self harm to prove that they have a problem. These people don't deserve to be looked down upon, because they were so unhappy, and so desperate for help, that they went as far as to hurt themselves to get it. Technically, this is for attention. But not in the same way as going around parading what you've done and saying "Look how sad I am!"

Have you ever hard of parasuicide? That's when people will take a non lethal dose of pills, or cut not too deep to lose a significant amount of blood etc. It's called a parasuicide attempt because it looks like a suicide attempt, but the intentions were to make people around them aware of how serious their problem is.

Maybe some people do it for attention, but you need to ask yourself what kind of attention are they really looking for?

[sarah newman]

I've never cut for attention.

[bena3217]

Personally, no, I've never done it for attention.

But I have to ask, what kind of attention are you talking about? There's the "look at me! I'm sad, feel sorry for me!" kind of seeking attention, and then there's the "There's no way I can explain how much I'm hurting, so I'll show you instead so you can help me."
Are both of these the same? No, they're not.

If you become depressed, and try to explain to someone how you feel, I can assure you that it's very hard, almost impossible. Sometimes, people will hurt themselves to prove to people that they do have a problem. A lot of the time, people will just think they you've got "the blues" if you tell them you're feeling depressed. Sometimes people will self harm to prove that they have a problem. These people don't deserve to be looked down upon, because they were so unhappy, and so desperate for help, that they went as far as to hurt themselves to get it. Technically, this is for attention. But not in the same way as going around parading what you've done and saying "Look how sad I am!"

Have you ever hard of parasuicide? That's when people will take a non lethal dose of pills, or cut not too deep to lose a significant amount of blood etc. It's called a parasuicide attempt because it looks like a suicide attempt, but the intentions were to make people around them aware of how serious their problem is.

Maybe some people do it for attention, but you need to ask yourself what kind of attention are they really looking for?


it was never for that ''look at me attention'' it was more the other one where i had problems at home and yeah..just wanted people to know there is a problem

[FullyAlive]

I've never really done it for attention sometimes I feel like i'm attention seeking but that's never been my intention.

I have never cut to show people that there is a problem, if I had my way no one would know I cut now. I always did it because at the time it seems like a genuine solution not a way to express pain or anything. Just a solution to how I feel however temporary.

So in that way I don't think I have ever cut for attention in a good or a bad way.

[maramara]

I don't think that sounds like cutting for attention. I think it sounds like a coping mechanism, which is what I do.

[Ambrosia]

I have met plenty of people who cut for attention. I had an old friend who would scratch herself up, roll her sleeves up, and walk around with her arms outward so people could see. It made her feel cool.

I would never -ever- do something like that. If I wanted attention, self harm would not be the way to go. I cut for personal reasons, and I avoid anyone ever seeing my cuts.

[Bath]

I don't understand how somebody could push themselves to physically harm themselves just for attention. That's why I think, even if they say they're doing it just for attention, they have to be doing it for some other reason too even if they don't know it. At least in my opinion.

[maramara]

I don't know, I've never done it for attention. I always hide it. But, maybe somebody doesn't know what to do, and this is the only way they can ask for help. I can't imagine showing anybody the shame under my clothes, but there are many ways to think about it, I guess.

[Magenta]

I think even the people who go 'oh look at me!' must still have some sort of issue because I don't think anyone would do that unless they're truly just stupid.

I've never done it for attention purposely save maybe a few very rare times. I'm usually incredibly careful about hiding it. I've shown my scars on some of my better days but that was just because I couldn't care less what people think. However, if they're not fully healed, I've only let my sleeves purposely slide up in front of one friend whom I was practically begging for help at the time because he was the only person I could trust and I really needed him. A few times it was a cry for help but mostly it's just an addiction.

[bena3217]

ive done it once like for attention...i actually cut my thighs to avoid people seeing it but i like wear short pants to school(we have to wear uniforms) and i once cut abit high like i wanted people to see...but i hide the rest...sometimes im abit careless and do something stupid like pull my pants up abit and you can see it...ive only done it once for people to see it...but like i said...i try to hide it most of the time...only when i feel i really needed help i showed...or when i was stupid...but im done now...after i told my dad i dont think i will ever again

[dark_soul777]

I have never cut for attention. I hide my cuts to the point of obsession and I've never told anybody about it. The one time my sister saw one of my cuts, I denied/lied about it and she believed me, but still for days I was afraid to the point of paranoia about her asking about it or telling people.

[jayy]

I have done it off and on since the age of 15 and have always hid it. Why let people know? The onlg way mom found out was when i was asleep and my arm was out of the covers ecer since then i have hid it and only told 3 people bc ik i can trust them. Ik people that cut bc theythink its 'cool' but it rele.isnt its more an addiction than anyrhing.