How I Stopped Cutting Myself and What You Can Do to Help the Cutter in Your Life

There are many forms of self-inflicted pain. The most common is cutting or scratching the forearms. Then there is cigarette burns and piercing the skin with needles, pins, etc. Typically doing harm to one's self is a means of transferring emotional pain to something more real. The physical pain helps to relieve the pain and pressure of the things that weigh on our minds until we can no longer handle them. it can become an addiction, many cutters doing it several times a day. they may try and make excuses for the cuts, such as saying they were scratched by an animal. In more developed cases the cutting may be done in less noticeable places, such as the ankles, thighs, and shoulders.

For some, it becomes an obsession to be shared with others. They may find something such as an online journal or blog, to post pictures of their cutting. Some even carve words and designs. Many people assume that a cutter is suicidal, which in most cases is not true. They simply want to feel physical rather than emotionally, the pain they carry.

I am twenty-six years old and I started cutting when I was sixteen. For several years after I started, I was blown off and made fun of, constantly being told that I was "doing it for attention". That's when I began to do it more privately and wear clothing to conceal it. It has caused me problems in relationships and friendships. It is awfully hard to get jobs with uniforms, when you have to disguise your arms constantly. I have been to several "specialists" about my condition, each one giving me the same basic theories on why I do this and how to fix it.

It boils down to one thing. You have to have good emotional health. Talking to people, getting up and doing something with your life, correcting mistakes that have hurt you, even seeing a professional and getting on proper medications for your psychological issues.

It took me getting in a fight with my boyfriend, hitting him, locking myself in a room and cutting my arm up badly, him thinking I was trying to kill myself and calling the police, going to jail for 3 days, and being sentenced to anger management to realize how bad things had gotten. That was in May of 2006. I have not cut myself at all since then.

I urge anyone who does this or has someone close to them that does this, to seek help properly, instead of attacking them with accusations and blame. This is such a serious condition and it requires a gentle approach.