Why do people cut?

[KnifeParty]

I really don't understand it. I mean, my life is pretty tough too. And stressful. But I would never feel a desire to inflict pain upon myself.

How is that fun? Why isn't there some other way to get your mind off of the stressful things in your life?

Play an instrument. Play video games. Pull pranks on people. You don't have to cut.

[Error 404]

Sometime doing some other stuff, just ain't enough.

Same question, few days ago, check it out:

http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=137139

[Destructive Impulse]

Because I fucking deserve it. I fuck up so I take out a knife or razor or what ever and make some cuts.
Also I play two instruments so there goes that logic

[MemoriesLost]

You think people do it for fun? No. Just no. People do it if there is some sort of unbearable emotional pain that is eating you up inside. Killing you. Physical pain temporarily numb the emotional pain because it's all you can think about when it's going on. Nobody likes pain. That's why some cut. Please just don't judge people to harshly.... Trust me, speaking from all I know, people who cut from pain don't think it's cool. I HATE myself for what I do, but it hurts more when others do.

[therunaway]

Did you just ask that? Different people have different reasons, some think it takes away the mental pain, while some do it, then go and flash it around like it's the newest trend, repeat after me, say "Attention Whores"

[Carly011]

Its hard to understand unless you do it. Obviously you have not been in the same place as we have. Its not the stress that causes us to do it. Its the emotional pain we are going through. The depression. The self hate. This is my reply to some other questions like this:

Before i started cutting i did not understand it at all. But then the emotional pain got to painful. I did not know how to handle it. I was severely depressed, i hated myself and felt so alone. Cutting was my way to release the emotional pain, it felt like all that pain would flow out along with the blood. These triggers are things that overwhelm us and give us that urge to release that pain. This is the only way we know how to cope.

Its a VERY hard habit to break. I hate what i do to myself, i hate it i want to stop. But then something happens that i cant handle and urges me to cut again. I am in therapy and i am on medication. Depression is a horrible horrible disease. It is so hard to overcome.

Please don't judge us. We are not happy that we do this to ourselves. We need support and caring. We don't need anyone to judge us, we already get judged because of our scars. I

I have so many scars on my body, both caused by me and not caused by me(heart surgeries and other surgeries). These scars will remind me one day of what i will overcome. One day i wont cut anymore, i am working on it. One day all of these scars will show me just how strong i am.

We are all struggling to overcome a horrible addiction.

Also, the pain is my relief. It is what helps calm me down. have you ever experienced such a horrible, overwhelming emotional pain? the type where you feel like you are going to explode and your chest tightens up? the kind where you struggle to breathe and all you want to do is cry and scream and die? Well for me this pain is so so much harder to deal with then then physical pain. These emotions also happen from little things, things that dont seem like a big deal to others. The physical pain is a HUGE relief because eventually it will stop. I can control it. My emotional pain is harder to get rid of and i just cant deal with it.

You say your not comfortable with the body being cut open, but what about surgeries. I need heart surgery and i would die without it. It will temporarily fix me until it is time for my next surgery. They must cut my body open to save me.

Cutting is kind of similar to that, for many of us cutting is a way to stop us from killing ourselves. Cutting is what is saving us. Without cutting we may not be here because we cant handle everything. Cutting is a temporary fix until we need it again. Eventually one day hopefully we can stop cutting and be able to be "healthy" on our own.

I have listend to music, but to me it just hurts me more. When i am in a deep depression nothing but cutting pulls me out. Music can do a lot of things ,but it cant cure depression or stop cutting

The only thing is cutting is addictive....just like a drug. it is very very hard to quit. Its not something i WANT to do. And when someone is depressed they dont just let things go. They blame themselves and beat themselves up over it. When something goes wrong it crushes me and i feel like it is all my fault and i hate myself over it. Depression is a cycle of continues negative thoughts. Thoughts saying "your not good enough, your a loser, you should go die, your fat, your a failure, you deserve pain, your a horrible person" So when seemingly little things happen to us it rips us apart, we can't help it. We just cant let it go. That is how it is for me, and many other people. Yes there are other alternatives but nothing that gives the same feeling and quick release like cutting. A shower doesnt do it for me either. Once you start cutting nothing else compares to it. Its a horrible habit, and most of us do try to stop at some point and many succeed. But it is hard. So hard. At this moment i am not ready to quit...i want to but i know i would fail. My therapist knows i cut, we are working on it. She doesnt even tell me to quit yet because i have no other coping skills and i would fail. I first need to work on my self esteem and coping skills.

Depression and cutting is something i wish no one had to deal. My heart problems, i can deal with. The horrible horrible depression is something i dont even want to deal with. Its a pain worse then anything i can imagine. Can you imagine living a life where every day you feel alone, where you feel like no one cares, that your a loser, fat, gross, stupid, that you are a failure, cant do anything right, where you would be better of dead because no one would notice, where you feel like all you do is bring disappoinment and sadness to others, where you are ashamed of yourself. A life where you hate yourself so much and that you are disgusted with yourself. I life where you dont even want to look in the mirror or think about yourself because your to ashamed? That is the life i live. This is the life many of us live. The cuts not only show our pain, they release it. Those cuts on our arms are cries for help, they are a symbol of how much pain we are going through. And to often people dont notice. Which just throws us deeper into it. The cuts are a small scarfice for a few moment of peace.

What we need is not judgement, but compassion. We don't want to do this. Many of us cut so that we live. If we did not cut many of us might kill ourselves. This is the scarifice we make so that we can stay alive.


I dont WANT to cut. But i hate myself so much that its my only escape. I feel as if i deserve the pain. I am a failure so i should hurt. That and the emotional pain is to much. I dont want to kill myself so i cut to stop myself.

Please don't judge us until you have been in our position. Cutting is not something we are proud of and want to do. We really do want to stop but its addicting.

[georgiamay]

How is that fun?

Who said it was fun? Don't assume things about it if you've already said you don't understand it. I don't know anyone who thinks it's fun.

I don't blame you for not understanding it, really. Before I started, if someone said to me, "I physically hurt myself on a regular basis because it makes me feel better," I wouldn't get it. I don't know how I would have reacted, I'd probably have thought they were stupid, but that's because before I started, I didn't know anything about it either.

I can tell you one thing though; no matter how many websites you go on, no matter how many people you talk to, or how much research you do or how many books you read, you won't ever fully understand it. You might get to a point where you can see where it could be seen as a coping mechanism, but you'll never really know how it feels. It's different for everyone anyway. My experiences are probably different to everyone elses.

It feels like a release, if I'm honest. It depends how I felt before I did it. The feeling that triggered it determined what I got from it most of the time. At first, I thought it was just something I was going to do for a while until I sorted some stuff out, but soon I was using it for other things too, things that I had no control over, and pretty soon, I used it to cope with almost every emotion under the sun. It also created a lot of problems itself.

It's not fun, not at all.

[BlueEyedTiger...]

Its not fun. Its a coping method for when things get too much whatever it may be. Dont judge on what you dont understand.

[SilentCutter]

Its great that you dont cut yourself bt cutting isnt fun. I do it to numb the pain i feel inside. I dont want to do it. Ive tried many different methods to substitute cutting bt it doesnt work. Its a way to release the pain. I hate myself so much because of wat i do the way i look the way i am and cutting makes me feel better. We all have our reasons and even though you dont understand dont judge us.

[Noxail]

I really don't understand it. I mean, my life is pretty tough too. And stressful.

Good for you bud. Glad your life is 'stressful'. When you get to the point where your ready to kill yourself, you'll understand.

But I would never feel a desire to inflict pain upon myself.

Once again, good for you. So happy you feel like rubbing it in our face. Enjoy your strength.

How is that fun? Why isn't there some other way to get your mind off of the stressful things in your life?

Would you enjoy ripping your fingers off one by one? No. It's not fun. Yea, and theres also a way for a girl to pee standing up, but it almost impossible to do so with making a mess.

Play an instrument. Play video games. Pull pranks on people. You don't have to cut.

I'm glad that someone who's never had the urge to cut, or otherwise harm themselves, can tell me what to do about it. You must be the almighty advice giver. I bow to you kind sir. :rolleyes: Sorry for smartassness. This is a touchy topic. Best not to ask simply because it's such a hard question to answer. Hope I didn't hurt any feelings.

:lol: Why yes, I'm a smartass ~Holli

[Truth]

People do not know how to express themselves. They consider that cutting is the only way to fix their problems. I used to be just like this; and after a few years of being self-harm free I realize how stupid I was to think it "helped" me in any way.

[josh_varnadoe1]

fradd,

I don't want to sound rude... no... your post is rude, or that's how I'm seeing it. People don't cut themselves for fun; it's not a game. There's a lot of emotion behind why people cut themselves and it's NOTHING to laugh at or to play around with. As much as I hate to admit it, I cut myself too out of pain, depression, grief, etc.

Sure there are other ways to release anger and other emotions than cutting yourself but you can't just tell someone to stop when they've been doing for a long time.

Also sometimes when someone is having some emotional pain at that very moment, there's so much going on in their brain that it's hard for them to think straight and end up slicing without thinking... at least that's how it is with me.

If you're not willing to help others here... then go somewhere else.

- Josh

[IAmTheLizardQueen]

Why do people smoke? Why do people drink? It becomes an addiction. I kniw everyone here is chewing you out, but this is pretty rediculous; so you can have a peice of my mind as well.

I play just about any school band instrument you could hand me, as well as guitar and piano. I'm addicted to angry birds and i've beat every one of those dorky lego games they've released. I'm known for elaborate pranks many of them including ben-gay or icey hot in Places they should NEVER be. And i still cut. No one ever said it was fun, if someone actually told you that (though this is no place for judging) they're either attention seekers, or OUT of their MIND.

It is by no means "fun." Long sleeves/jackets are by no means fun. Almost blacking out to hide scars and cuts because you only owre a jacket that day ISNT fun. Faking a migraine and running to the bathroom to pretend to puke because you didnt know it was scoliosis testing day, trying to avoid taking off your shirt because you shredded your stomach the night before ISN'T fun.

Where exactly do you get the nerve to ask that?

[Magenta]

Guys, not everyone realizes what self-harm really is. Let's keep this friendly, okay? The OP is here to receive an answer to his question just as you are here to receive help and advice without judgement.

Let's keep this civil, okay? No one is meaning to be rude or offensive.

[Jupiter]

Self harm is a way of releaving stress. It should not ever be recommended, unless it is merely a way to get out of suicide in a serious case. However, one thing is for sure, and that it is addicting. It is not fun. :/

I hope that this was nice, I tried to answer your major question.

[xXoblivionXx]

Different people cut for different reasons...

a way of coping with stress/pain
to punish themselves
to escape this world
but some also do it because they think it is cool >.< (that disgusts me)

But hear me when I say that cutting is NOT fun. I cry sometimes when I cut thinking to myself, how did things go this far?

[Black Rose]

I think I do because it is the only thing I do right. I screw up all of the time and I make stupid mistakes and an just stupid. When I cut and it bleeds it is as if I have acomplished something. When I don't bleed I have to cut again until it does. It is irritating at times but it makes me feel better somehow. It just makes me feel like I can do something right I guess

[bes004]

It's hard to understand, but everyone has their own reasons. You can't imagine the pain those of us who self harm go through. It isn't fun. Heck, if that was fun than the life I'm living would be fun, too. But it's not. I've been self harming as long as I can remember (though I've estimated 3 years old). That wasn't a choice. I didn't know what the crap I was doing. But I did because there was no other way to escape the intense pain I was feeling.

[Fourth Dimension]

I really don't understand it. I mean, my life is pretty tough too. And stressful. But I would never feel a desire to inflict pain upon myself.

How is that fun? Why isn't there some other way to get your mind off of the stressful things in your life?

Play an instrument. Play video games. Pull pranks on people. You don't have to cut.

ur post is very rude and cruel

in no way is it fun

in my opinion it was a form of release it was a way to help me cope with everything that was going on in my life

[Mortal Coil]

Cutting. Is. Not. Fun.
I do it because I'm addicted. At first, it actually was a little bit fun: I enjoyed the sting, the trickle of blood, but now all that has left and become an addiction. I need to cut in order to be me. To feel in control, at least in control of the blade. To calm down, because pain always does that for me.

[Incompris]

I hurt myself so I don't hurt someone else. When I get depressed it is always followed by anger. I would rather hurt myself to calm myself down then go out and hurt someone because I am mad. That wouldn't be right.

[Desuetude]

I hurt myself so I don't hurt someone else. When I get depressed it is always followed by anger. I would rather hurt myself to calm myself down then go out and hurt someone because I am mad. That wouldn't be right.
This is one reason I do it. Lots more follow: to calm myself down, everything just gets too much and so on top of me it feels like i'm suffocating, cutting is a release from that and it's easier to deal with than the emotional pain that i'm usually feeling, clears my head a tiny bit. Sometimes I just need to hurt myself one way or another and although I have other forms I do it cutting is one of the best, I find.

[danny7]

it isnt fun. i do it at times when im fu**ing stresed out and depressed and feel self-hate and it reliefs stress soo much. I have friends who cut themselves too, and we sometimes try to stop together and help each other out,but its not fun.

[Wayne92]

It's easy to condemn what is not understood.

I have never cut, but that's a miracle within itself. Believe me when I say, I understand the pain felt by those who do are have cut. It's no different to those who drink or get high to deal with their problems. Cutting provides a pain to focus on other than the emotional burden. I use to feel so horrible, that my heartbeats hurt, like the blood in my veins was replaced with liquid cement that was slowly drying making the next heartbeat more painful than the last. I also see it as a self inflicted punishment for being in that situation(varies by person).
That's my understanding of it since I know the feeling, although I am ignorant to the experience. If I am incorrect, please feel free to correct me. Also, if any of you like someone to talk to, feel free to contact me.

[xbbyG15x]

Different reasons for me usually.

A lot of times it's because I am having so much emotional pain, the physical pain just helps distract me from the emotional. It doesn't take it away, just for the moment.

Other times I do it out of pure boredom. I know, this sounds incredibly stupid, but cutting is an addiction. Like.. it's your own personal supply of nicotine, like from smoking cigarettes, but when you cut, your brain releases endorphins that just make you feel better, for now. Like, people cant go without smoking a cigarette for a certain amount of time, cutters are addicted to cutting.

Another reason is, when you cut, the feeling is amazing. ((I AM NOT SAYING IN ANY WAY THAT ANYONE SHOULD SELF HARM)) Not the pain, I hate the pain, the numb feeling you get afterwards. A lot of people do cut for the pain, because they feel they should "punish" themselves. Not me, I personally hate pain. But, the feeling I get, I don't know how to describe it, is way worth the pain I need to endure from making the cut.

Other times, I have no idea why I do it. Just for no reason sometimes.. I guess. Like I said, it's an addiction, that's why, I suppose. I just feel like my life is so fucked up sometimes, I need to do it.