Why do people cut themselves?

I like the feeling I get when it starts bleeding. It's like a rush of euphoria, but it doesn't last for very long. Please don't start it.

For me it's a way to punish myself and exercise a sense of control I don't normally feel that I have.

Hello, person422. Dr Grohol:

Cutting and Self-Injury | World of Psychology

I wish you well.

well nobody else will cut me.... so i have to do it.

:/

Hep69: What you wrote makes me so sad. You are NOT any of those awful things you said about yourself.

When you were born you were perfect and innocent; somewhere along the way a person or persons told you lies about yourself and you believed them (as we all do as children). NO ONE deserves to be hurt...ever.

Would you consider counseling? Hugs

I used to cut because I tend to overthink and it was a distraction from all my thoughts and feelings, if only for an instant. It brought me into the present moment, an exact point in time where everything else faded away.

Other than the actual act of cutting, there was always the thrill I would get minutes before I actually started. Once I decided that I was going to do it, there was no stopping me or changing that decision; I'd get excited, giddy even, as I "set up" for it, and that was a big thing for me.

Of course, I'd always wake up the next morning with guilt and regret and shame and hopelessness. Or sometimes just numbness and no emotion at all.

If you're reading this and you haven't done it before, I'm begging you, please don't start. It's not worth it. Even though I've managed to stop, the thoughts are always there and I always think about how much more relaxed my mind would be if I didn't have to carry this around. Stay strong!

- AJ

I notice I cut when having anxiety attacks or when in depression episodes (although my meds have stabilized me tremendously, sometimes have those days). I feel I cannot breathe when having an anxiety attack, and cutting helps release everything, and I am able to breathe again, literally. I also cut to punish, feel something when I feel numb, and release endorphines when extremely sad. I have come a long way with it, as in, not resorting to it, but sometimes I slip. Definitely best to keep in mind that cutting and any self-injury is such a brief, temporary relief...not worth it in the end.