Self Harm

[TheRavenHouse]

No offence if you guys do it, but I think it is a really petty thing to do. There are so many healthier options to alleviate emotional turmoil. The best one I can think of is exercise. Go out for a run, join the gym and lift some weights, or if you'd prefer, stay inside and just do push ups. Go for a swim. Seriously, cutting yourself to feel some sort of physical pain is kind of stupid, when you could go get a job, bust your ass and feel physical pain, whilst also getting something out of it. Or like I said, go to the gym, and push yourself to the point of physical exhaustion.

Cutting is the easy way out.

Of course it's the easy way out, that's why people do it. If people feel emotionally destroyed it's a lot harder to lift weights then to drag a blade across your skin.

I've had a tough year, and not once have I even thought about putting a blade to my skin. I've gone and fucking ruined myself in the gym, pushed myself to limits I didn't think I was capable of. The feeling is so incredible, I feel like nothing can stop me, emotionally or physically. The easy way out is just stupid.

The fact that you never thought of it kind of makes your argument invalid, I'm not denying that you've gone through really bad shit, and you've probably gone through way worse than most people who cut themselves, but judging people for it is wrong when you haven't felt that way before.

[Stark]

I've had thoughts of suicide though..but I know well and true that I am too strong to do that to myself or my family. cutting seems pointless.

[TheRavenHouse]

I've had thoughts of suicide though..but I know well and true that I am too strong to do that to myself or my family. cutting seems pointless.

If it helps someone feel better then it has a purpose, it's not like suicide where it's actually hurting others, so there's no reason to act so high and mighty. You are a strong and intelligent person, so sometimes it's hard to see why people do things a worse way than they could, I get that.

[Reddy]

I agree with Raven on this. If you haven't actually been to the point where you harm your self then you don't know what it's like to be in there position.

Some people get into spots where they're so overwhelmed they can't feel anything. Emotions aren't there anymore, an they just... Don't care. It's like a prolonged state of shock. I've been there once, and it was quite scary I have to say. They cut to feel again.

I've been at this stage before when I was 14. I was a very curious young boy and I considered my self a christian at the time. I was surfing YouTube and stumbled across a video against Christianity. I can't recall anything about the video but it convinced me that god didn't exist and for a 14 year old boy this was very depressing. I would burst out into tears for no reason and I treated everyone else like shit. I was a bully for most of my high school years, beating up smaller kids because I could. To me there was no point in living so I didn't care about anyone else or there feelings. I ended up getting in heaps of trouble at school and my dad kicked my ass for it. at this point I stopped hurting others and started to harm my self. I would steal my dads lighter and heat up wires red hot and burn my forearm, I still have the scars 4 years later although they're hardly visible. I only burnt my self 3 times but the state of depression I was in lasted for two years.

At 16 I moved from W.A, Perth to VIC, Melbourne right across the country. Something clicked when I started to go to my new school. Suddenly I was happy again and life was worth living I made friends and got a girlfriend. Since then I have been extremely happy and in touch with my emotions. Everything I do now, I do with confidence and nothing really brings me down. Life is good.

So all in all I believe that Self harm is a very bad and negative thing. there is always a way out of your depression. You probably just need the right kick.

[Daniël]

I thought about cutting myself when I'm sad, but I found out cutting others works much better for me.

[nýbatterí]

I thought about cutting myself when I'm sad, but I found out cutting others works much better for me.

No seriously, it's fucking stupid

[Spock]

[spoiler:1p9h1ilk]I am a cutter, but actually I would argue that the majority of people who do it actually are attention whores. I don't think I am, but seeing as attention whores don't know they're attention whores I can't say with 100% certainty I'm not. Oh, the human mind. In any case, here's my analysis on cutting:

Most people I know do it for attention. I've met many people who've done it and, to me, they're doing it because they want to feel special. Negative attention is still desirable to many people, even if they get plenty of attention by not being sad. I've met so many people who say they're depressed and they just... Aren't. People like feeling sad for the attention and that's all there is to it, so they make themselves sad over things that are incredibly silly to be sad over. They also do this because the media has convinced them that being sad is okay and also increased the amount of drama involved in just about everything. Honestly, 50 years ago if a kid was bullied they sucked it up. Today they become depressed and cut themselves or commit suicide. Society is becoming weaker as whole and I despise it. Those who are fake depressed over nothing are lying to themselves, not facing what is right, and need to recognize reality. Those who are depressed over nothing quite frankly need to suck it up.

But that's just most cases. I recognize that sometimes bullying actually is extremely brutal, and there are certain things in this world that are just too much for people to take. All I'm saying is that the fake ones need to stop lying.

That's a side note. As for the people who are real, I think if you asked a hundred different people you would get a hundred different answers. My reason used to be that physical pain was better than emotional pain. In case you've ever heard the phrase "I'm gonna punch you in the face so your stomach stops hurting" or anything to that effect, that's the mentality. By physically harming yourself you distract yourself from the emotional pain, and it can go away or dull or the time being. I also used to do it as punishment for being a miserable excuse for a human etc.

Some people get into spots where they're so overwhelmed they can't feel anything. Emotions aren't there anymore, an they just... Don't care. It's like a prolonged state of shock. I've been there once, and it was quite scary I have to say. They cut to feel again.

I, today, do it because it makes things real. A physical manifestation of a problem that is abstract. I have problems dealing with the abstract, and I feel that when I have mental pain I need to prove that it's there. Make it real, or something to that effect. I also do it as expression. Things just seem so much more meaningful when they're written in blood or scars, and so I cut to express emotions.

Physically, though, it's like a drug. When you self harm your brain releases hormones or endorphins or something (I don't remember what the doctor said) and you get a momentary relief. Problem is its also like a drug in the fact that the body becomes used to whatever is released, and the next one it takes a deeper, more painful cut to achieve the same result. The mind becomes addicted in the same way it would to a drug (not a physical addiction, just a mental one).

My two cents.[/spoiler:1p9h1ilk]

So do you think you're ever gonna stop? I mean, you seem to understand the risks and problems involved pretty well.

Honestly, no. No I do not. I have absolutely zero will to stop, because to be frank it's not actually physically harmful. Yeah, yeah it's like a drug, but the downside is a scar. It's not going to shut down my live or anything. Though my parents have recently found out and I go to a therapist a couple times a week I don't see a reason to stop, so I don't see myself stopping anytime in the future. That being said, if I wasn't depressed all the time, there wouldn't be a reason to cut either, so in the off chance it does end I might stop. I'm not going to make an effort to stop though.

Blot I don't think you understand that stress relief techniques don't work for everyone. I work out constantly. Exercise is a SOURCE of stress for me. A lot of people do whatever they're passionate about to relieve stress. I'm passionate about nothing. I'm not artistic or creative, though I used to love animation and that kind of worked. If someone offers me a feasible alternative I might use that but I've yet to see one. Not only that but it's not just about the stress, as I stated before.

[Hazzystan]

Honestly, no. No I do not. I have absolutely zero will to stop, because to be frank it's not actually physically harmful. Yeah, yeah it's like a drug, but the downside is a scar.

This isn't true.

• - Breaking your skin at any time can be dangerous, as your body becomes exposed to bacteria and infection.
  - Dealing with problems in a self-destructive way isn't psychologically healthy, in that the more you rely on cutting to deal with problems, the less you are able to properly and rationally deal with your problems.
  - Repeatedly cutting the same place creates scar tissue. I don't think it's a good idea to create a build-up of scar tissue in any situation.
  - No matter how well-versed in cutting you are, there is still a chance that you can sever a vein which is extremely unhealthy, whether you bleed out or not. This becomes increasingly likely as the veins on the wrists are very close to the surface. Severing veins is a mistake that even surgeons make, so being "extra careful" isn't an excuse.

I don't think people who cut are attention-whores; self harm is a result of a mental illness which should be treated with the same sensitivity and seriousness as any other. However I just hate it when people try to justify or rationalise it.

[Spock]

I'll take my chances with the infection and the vein thing. Point is its not going to kill me. I recognize it as psychologically unhealthy in some way, but I just don't care in that regard. I have a hard time pinning that down as real anyway.

[Cavolia]

Spock, I can comprehend all that you've been saying except for this one thing.

Things just seem so much more meaningful when they're written in blood or scars, and so I cut to express emotions.

What makes it more meaningful? I think everyone has written in blood sometime, but I assume for most people it's because they already had a little wound and just did it for shits and giggles.

Also, may I ask how old you are? I'm having a hard time imagining your situation.