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I cut for everything.
Okay, so how it all started.
A close friend has a tendency to ignore me when he gets upset. I hate being ignored, it hurts. He always has excuses to ignore me for days!
So the last time he did it I don't know what got into me but I just decided to cut. To my surprise, it actually helps! Not the pain but the blood. I don't know but seeing the blood makes me feel way better. I feel less bad. So after that I cut every time I get angry, frustrated or when I just feel bad. Well, my life isn't exactly great, I have other better reasons for cutting besides my dumbass friend.
I do not cut deep so I do not think its any dangerous but should I still stop? I cut my thighs and hips not my wrists so no one finds out. If I have to stop how do I stop? Its really addicting.
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Hi honey. I'm sorry to hear about what you are going through, with your friend and the other areas of life that you talked about. I don't judge you because we all have addictions. When I was a teenager, I turned to an eating disorder to cope with my issues. Cutting is not that different. Both give the illusion that you are in control of something. They ease an anxiety in some way, shape, or form, even if it isn't healthy. Today, my coping mechanisms for dealing with anxiety or anger are: prayer, music, writing, and working out. Although you are not cutting deep, cutting is still very dangerous. Your skin is an organ and you are damaging it when you cut yourself. Self-inflicting wounds on yourself is not physically or psychologically healthy. You can try the following and see if any of these help:
Get a rubber band and tie it around your wrist. When you feel the urge to to cut, flick the rubber band against your wrist.
Use a stress ball. Similarly, when you feel that urge, squeeze the ball.
Write about what is bothering you. Use a journal to organize your ideas into a cohesive document where you can let out your emotions.
Call a friend. Use an accountability system. Call that friend when you feel the urge.
I needed to get help with my eating disorder. I couldn't do it alone. Do not be ashamed to get help. We all have addictions and it is difficult to break away from them. A professional can guide you through this process in a non-judgemental environment.
Please let me know if you need anything. My inbox is always open :)
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Simple answer is yes, you should stop. It's not that easy though is it?
Cutting is a non healthy way of dealing with emotions you can't cope with any other way, for a number of reasons. The emotions behind it can vary enormously but it sounds like a part of yours is a feeling of rejection you get if you think you're being ignored. This quite often stems from feelings of low self esteem and you have trouble voicing your concerns. Cutting is used as a (not helpful) way of letting the negative emotions out of your body as you can't do it any other way. From what you say you're not having an easy time of things anyway so it all adds up as one huge emotional pile that you just can't deal with.
The thing with the cutting is that as well as being dangerous, the relief doesn't last. It's a temporary solution to a far bigger problem and the only results are you having a scarred body, which is likely to eventually make you feel worse about yourself, and possibly doing some real harm. You do need to get help in dealing with this and the first step, however difficult it might seem, is to talk to a responsible adult who you trust. It could be a teacher, a doctor, a parent or another adult.
You really do need to get help with this as it's not only the scarring, it can become very dangerous, even fatal and I don't think you want things to go that far or you would not be asking for help now.
You might feel it's helping but it's actually a false help. What it's really doing is compounding your negative feelings and making you worse each time you come down from that cut. It's a bit like the way drugs affect you, you think they make you feel good but it's doing the opposite without you realising and then you need another fix, then another and so on. Not good!
You will need to see your doctor about it, there would have to be therapy and you will need to stick with it. You can learn to enjoy life without harming yourself, you just need to be taught the emotional tools to help you do it.
I've included a link for you to read up a little more about this but it is VERY important you get treatment as soon as you can. It might not seem it to you but this is a dangerous thing to do.
Good luck.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
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So its good that you want to quit and are aware that this might not be the healthest thing to be doing. Everyones life has hickups and problems in them. Even if it doesnt seem like it. But when we come accross these road blocks or challenging moments. We need to figure out a way to deal with them and get through them in a healthy way.
Here is a website that I think will be very helpful.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location).
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Yes, you should stop, because I dont think you want to live handicapped , like lose any body part through gangrene?? I think its worse than dying. Probably you dont take anti-tetanus after every cut, so even, if you dont cut deep, only two things may happen: You die a very very painful death due to tetanus, or you become handicapped thorough gangrene.If you think,you cant live without cutting, but can live handicapped... choice is yours. Addiction is very addictive, but its not impossible to leave it.
Next time, you feel like cutting, start crying. Its way better way to make feel good after the whole crying session is over.
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Nobody will tell you not to stop, and most people will tell you not to without a valid reason. Me, I know exactly how addictive self-harm can be, and I also know how good it can be. The 'high' feeling you get from self-harming is only temporary, it lasts about ten minutes before you start realising what you've done, panic about covering it up, etc. and it causes more problems than it solves. It's like smoking a cigarette, it helps for those few minutes of inhaling the smoke - but you get addicted. Very, very slowly and without knowing it until it's too late, you get addicted. Self-harm is physiologically addictive, before long you won't be able to go a week or so without cutting if it carries on. There is absolutely no reason I can give you that you should keep doing it, I can't think of a single thing that self-harm does for you that is a reason to keep doing it, because every single feeling it gives you is a lie, and getting into bad habits only makes it worse. You may think you're making your problems easier, but you're not, you're actually giving yourself more problems by getting yourself into something so incredibly addictive. Also, yes, you're right, it's not as dangerous as, say, overdosing on pills, but all it takes is one time - one single time - you decide to cut deeper, and that's it. That could mean your life. One day you might stop getting that rush from cutting and want to try something different, this could result in endless bad habits and it's the wrong road to go down. Nobody will ever tell you straight-up how awful it is to be in that situation because it's hardly even understood now, but I'm telling you, don't do it. I know self-harm makes you feel alive, but I've found that a good 30-minute workout not only helps me to feel alive but is also good for me. Think about your mental and physical health in the long-term, not the short term. Because before you know, it'll be too late, and you'll be fighting off an addiction, which is even more dangerous and makes you even more depressed because when you try to quit cutting, that'll be the hardest thing you've ever done. Trust me. Take care of yourself, bathe yourself and treat your skin, exercise and treat your heart - self-harm leaves permanent scars from temporary problems, and it's really, really not worth it. Look after yourself, you deserve it, and nothing makes you feel happier than having a healthy body.
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I could understand how this could be addicting. Anything that feels better than emotional pain will be. This is going to be a process for you . You have to change your thoughts to see a different reality. It's hard for you to see it now but basically what I see is you are giving the "dumbass " friend too much power. People are going to hurt you and you are going to feel bad but this is a part of life. We all hurt people from time to time and if we are mingling with people that are consistently hurting us it may be a good time to distance yourself a bit.
No one is worth your hurting yourself for! NO ONE!
Maybe you aren't cutting deep now but it may progress. I imagine that eventually those cuts are not going to
hurt as much and you will have to cut deeper.
I also feel that you should share this with a parent or someone you can trust. You need support right now
and you may need to attend some group counseling with other people that have been where you are now. It helps when you can relate to someone.
I hope you seek the support you need and remember you need to love yourself over these hurtful people. They are of worth it.
Sending you lots of love.
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Perhaps professional help would be in order in order to stop. It seems that all you want is for your friend to lean on you when he feels blue. Does he know that?
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Cutting even if your not cutting deep can be harmful. You have to find an healthier outlet. I'm sure but maybe a(n) hobby. And how do you stop ? I've never cut myself but I've been addicted to things. You just have to tell yourself its a better alternative to cutting. Maybe get active outdoors . Maybe running or riding your bike surround yourself with positive people distract yourself with positivity. I hope this helps.
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Yes you should stop cutting. And yes it is hard to stop cold turkey just like it is hard for smokers to stop smoking. A person needs help with that. You won't be able to stop just because you want to. And thats where the advice from adviceman comes in. I second everything he said. I wish you the best dear. You are a very intelligent person hon, for reaching out here to ask for help. I only hope you do see this advice as the real help, no matter how scary it may seem. If you face your fears and start the process, the fear will soon subside. Fear is a bully that keeps you from mentally being able to take the steps to change for the better. Good luck and God Bless.
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Yes it is addicting and yes it is dangerous, you could very easily cut an artery instead of a vein as we have arteries all over our bodies. If you cut and arteries you could bleed out before help gets to you.
Cutting is also a sign of something else. Cutting is usually a sign if Clinical Depression. The cutting relieves the stress and the pain of depression; temporarily. There is a cycle of depression. Depression causes pain, pain causes depression, depression causes stress which caused pain and round and round it goes.
Clinical depression does not mean you have a mental diseases or illness. The problem is generally found to be a lack of one or two chemicals secreted into the brain at puberty easily corrected with one pill taken generally daily for a year maybe two.
What you need to do is tell your parents that you’re cutting. They may or may not start to yell and scream. I would expect that they would become very concerned and scared. The first thing they need to do for you is take you to your family doctor for a complete physical and to be screened for depression. The physical is to rule out any organic reason for how you feel.
Next while your family doctor could treat you for depression a family practice doctor is not really trained to do so. Since the chemicals that need replacing secrete into the brain you need to be treated by a specialist trained in that area. A Board Certified Psychiatrist is the doctor trained to treat and administer the proper medications. Were a regular doctor may only have done a residency rotation in psychiatry a Board Certified Psychiatrist has completed a yearlong Fellowship and passed all the criteria to be certified by the College of Psychiatry.
Next the psychiatrist will most likely suggest talk therapy with a psychologist. This is good for talking with the psychologist will get at the root cause of the depression, those other things you talk about and maybe something you are not even aware of. Whatever you talk about in therapy stays in therapy nothing goes back to your parents. If your therapist asks to meet with your parents it will only be to suggest what they can do to help you. You can trust your therapist with your deepest darkest secrets.
You must tell your parents or you will find yourself cutting deeper to get the feeling you want. This is dangerous. IF you find yourself needing to cut don't call 911 instead and ask for help
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