Why do people cut themselves?

Question

I am doing a paper for my psychology class and my topic is teen cutting. What are your opinions on why people cut themselves?

Answer 1

there are many reasons why people cut themselves, moste of them have to do with being emotionally unstable. it is most common in children in their teens. one of the biggest factors is if they feel guilty for somthing. (parents divorce, wrecking the car, hurting a boyfriend, feeling they let god down by messing around with somone) and they think they need to be punished. if they don't tell anyone how they feel (mainly a therapist) they need a way to let out their emotions and they cut themselves to inflict physical pain to help reduce their mental anquish. this is a serious mental illness but is not all that uncommon. if you go to google.com, you can finde scholarly articals on this. I hope i helped you out. Good luck with your paper!

-TJ

Answer 2

Having been around cutter this is my first hand perception of this issue, I feel it has more to do with the desire to eliminate and feel pain when none is there. The person sees pain all around them and then because they are not in pain inflicts it on themselves. The more they cut it becomes like a narcotic. The thrill the secrecy and the pleasure of the control of real pain-not emotional envelopment but honest bleeding and deep pain. It provides a bit of superiority and the endorphin rush as well as the heat of the wound as it heals is a reminder of being grounded and "special". Then reality hits, the scars are noticeable and people think you are weird - the withdrawal causes a new type of cutting and it is not as gleeful as before because now it is a punishment for lying to yourself - now you are like everyone and in emotional pain - but still different because of the cutting-then comes the fear - what if the cut won't stop bleeding? What if I die - will anyone care? Paranoia - anger-self pity it is a vicious cycle and then cutting is both punishment and reward - quite a vicious cycle. If you are lucky you get help and through proper counseling and with diet, medicine, life changes like sleeping which you had long ago stopped. You see the glimmer of hope and hope to get far away from the nightmare - then the scars are there calling to you-reminding you...You are lucky your friend was not she cut too deep and didn't make it...she punished her self to death...you feel guilty the light is too bright it hurts your eyes but now you are trapped unless you can convince them you are better-but you want to be better right? You want to heal-but the cut that you made last is beginning to heal and you want to pick at it so it bleeds and you feel alive again. It will get better you are told...Yeah you think tell that to my friend...maybe she has it better.....

Answer 3

Cutting ownself could be few reasons.

1. Getting attention
2. Vent out anger that he/she couldn't find other ways to do it.
3. Attention Divert, want to feel the physical pain instead of emotional pain
4. Hate about ownself due to disrepect and feel meaningless in life.

Answer 4

Every one you ask on here will probably give you a different answer, that's becuase the causes are various.

This website is for the national self harm network - no not promoting it, but trying to make it better understood!
Hope it's helpful.
http://www.nshn.co.uk/facts.html

Answer 5

it is most likely because they hate themselves for something they have done. they hate themselves and probably dont want to die that quick so they are starting by hurting themselves with teen cutting

Answer 6

By inflicting physical pain, the mental and psychological pain disappears.

Answer 7

If they are cutting from drugs, thats bold, but if you are talkin about cutting themselves (self-multilating) then thats worse, both causing depression when 'cut-off' from it. They are usually the low IQ gothic-wannabe punks that think they know more about the world (spritually) but you can't blame these crazy kids, everyone self-multilates through other wierd ways, not hurting themself, though.

Answer 8

people I belive cut themselfs for either to get relief from what there going through or even so they will die because they hate there lifes mostly the cause of depression.

Answer 9

Usually cutters dont feel in control of anything in their lives so they do it to actually feel like they are in control of something.