I have cut as well.

I've never gotten as much of an endorphin rush from it as some people have (maybe because I've never cut very badly/deeply), and instead it tends to serve as more of a distraction - I become so focused on the external pain that the internal pain isn't as bad. I think it's also a way of expressing how I feel on the inside by putting it on the outside, to sort of "justify" it, as jacq10 said. And then other times, I've done it simply because I've become addicted - and at some point you just "need" it.

Please don't try it, not even once. Starting cutting has been one of the biggest mistakes of my life so far (it could even be #1), and I seriously regret ever trying it. Even if just do it ONCE and SWEAR you'll never come back to it again, chances are, you will - and once you're addicted (which will happen), it's likely to stay with you for many years, possibly even the rest of your life. Spare yourself the misery and just don't even go there, no matter how bad things get. I swear to you it's not worth it.