Why cut yourself

In long-term cases of cutting, the behavior becomes a compulsion. Cutters will seek out times and areas where they can cut themselves. Mental healthcare professionals are always ready to help treat cutting disorders, but it may be difficult to convince your loved one to seek treatment.

People who mutilate themselves are very secretive and do not want to share their actions with anyone. Staging an intervention is one of the most effective ways to approach someone suffering from a self-harming disorder. Intervention provides a setting where proper dialogue can begin between the team members and their loved one.

During an intervention, personal feelings and emotions can be expressed without worrying about damaging a relationship. Everyone participating knows the main goal is to help the cutter get the care she needs. If you or a loved one struggle with cutting, we are here for you. Call our helpline, , 24 hours a day to speak to an admissions coordinator about available treatment options. On This Page: Why Cutting? Many people who cut themselves were abused in some way as a child. Whether the abuse was sexual, physical or emotional, or a case of neglect.

Teenagers are more likely to cut themselves. Self-harm often begins in the early teen years due to emotional ups and downs, peer pressure, loneliness and conflicts with authority figures.

People who are self-critical and have many negative emotions are at increased risk of cutting. Cutters tend to be more impulsive and have poor cognitive skills. If you go to hospital because of self-harm healthcare staff should urgently assess your mental health. The assessment is to understand your:. Can I just get treatment for my injuries? What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment should be completed with you to think about any risks.

In hospital staff may want to do a risk assessment with you by going through a questionnaire with you. Healthcare professionals will look at different things to work out risk using a scale. Some of the things healthcare professionals will look at are around the following.

What is a needs assessment? This will look at your needs to help you to manage and recover from selfharm. It should look at both your mental health and social care needs. It will be completed with a mental health specialist. You should work together with the specialist to agree your needs.

They should then be put in a written plan. The needs assessment should be passed on to your GP and to any relevant mental health services. This is to help them give you follow up support.

Can I leave? You might be in a healthcare setting like a hospital, or a mental health service, because of self-harm. But you might want to leave. Before you leave professionals should assess you to test your mental capacity and to see if they think you have a mental illness. What will happen after my assessments? The NHS has 3 different options depending on your risk. But it is possible. The first step is deciding you want to stop and that you are doing this for you.

Some people have found it helpful being supported by loved ones to help them stop self-harming. There are different ways to help reduce the amount you self-harm, or to try to stop completely. Everybody is different and what works for someone else may not work for you. Try different things. Whatever you choose give yourself time, as it may take a while for things to improve.

You can think about telling your friends and family that you are trying to stop or reduce your self-harm. You can let them know if there is anything that they can do to support you. You may self-harm straight away when you are distressed. You can try to delay your self-harm. With this technique, you might not self-harm as badly, as often or at all. This may work because often people react to difficult feelings quickly by self-harming. Give yourself an aim. You can gradually increase the amount of time you wait before selfharming.

This might lead to you not self-harming at all. Talk to someone who understands. This could be a friend, a relative or another person who self-harms. There may be a local support group you can join or a helpline you can ring. You might self-harm for several reasons. You can decide on what techniques work for you best. The NHS make free self-help guide you can use to help you. Here is the link: www. The app is not an aid to treatment. Here is the link to download the app: www. This app is to help give people easy and discreet access to information and advice about selfharm and suicidal thoughts.

There is always risk with self-harm. But you might want to lower the physical damage you do when you self-harm. This is called harm-reduction. There are some suggestions below. You may have scars from your self-harm. You may feel embarrassed, ashamed or feel guilty about your scars. Accepting your scars can be an important part of recovery.

This can take time. If people see your scars they might ask what happened. They may not realise that you have self-harmed. You might deal with things differently depending on who asks you. Be honest You may want to tell people that your scars were caused by self-harm. You can tell them as much or as little as you want. You could think about some responses you are happy with. There are ways you can treat and disguise scars if you want to. Most scars will fade over time but will never disappear.

Not all of these will suit every type of scar. You can talk to your doctor about your scars and how to deal with them. Keep fresh injuries clean and infection free. Good first aid or care for your wound can reduce scarring. You may be feeling all sorts of different things if someone you know selfharms. Here are some tips on how to deal with the situation and support the person you care about. Self-harm is the way the person you care for deals with their distress.

Be honest with yourself about how the self-harm makes you feel. It is ok to feel whatever you feel. You may feel frightened, uncomfortable and provoked. Take time to process your feelings around your relative selfharming. Try not to react to stressful or emotional situations with anger or blame.

If your relative wants to talk to you about their self-harm the main thing to do is listen to them. You can ask them what help they want.

You may have a better understanding of what the person is going through if you educate yourself. You could contact mental health and self-harm charities for information. Or read books or join a support group. Tell them you care for them if they self-harm or not. If possible, make sure they have a safe place.

Be as available as you can be. Set aside your personal feelings about self-harm and focus on what's going on for them. Be honest and realistic about what you can and can't do. Offer the person support if you think that you can help with something.

You may think about removing sharp objects or pills from the house. This can be an option if the person feels suicidal and you need to do something in a crisis. At other times this may not be helpful as for many self-harm is a coping technique. It is likely to make them feel more alone. Accepting and understanding that someone is in pain doesn't make the pain go away. But it can make it more bearable for them to know that someone understands. Be hopeful about the possibilities of finding other ways of coping rather than self-harm.

If they are willing, discuss possibilities for treatment with them. They will decide when they feel the time is right. Be patient. You might find it difficult if the person rejects you at first, but they may need time to build trust. Take care of yourself. Don't be afraid to take a break. If you are a carer, friend or relative of someone who self-harms, you can get support. You can use online forums, support groups and telephone support services.

Support groups for friends and family of people with mental health problems may be useful. While they may not only focus on selfharm, group members will understand how a caring role can affect you. Look in our Useful Contacts section below for contact details of some helpful services or search on the Carers Trust website:. It explains what they found about why people self-harm and ways to support people.

You can download it from their website. Website : www. You can download it for free from their website. DBT self-help The website has been created by people who have been through dialectical behavioural therapy DBT rather than by health professionals. The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-inflicted Violence — by Jan Sutton This is a book that has new research, statistics, diagrams, some resources, case studies and practical self-help activities.

She writes about what helped her distract herself and overcome her self-harming behaviour. National Self-harm Network An online forum where you can chat with other people affected by self-harm.

Self-Injury Support Offers a helpline service for women of any age who self-harm, as well as text and email services for women under Telephone : Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7pm — pm Text : Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 7pm — pm. Email: tessmail selfinjurysupport. They have information, support forums. Telephone : Website : www.

They provide advice, support and psychosocial services to children, young people and adults. Open 10am-4pm Monday to Friday. Email : www. Shout can help with urgent issues such as suicidal thoughts, abuse or assault, self-harm, bullying and relationship challenges. Text : Text Shout to Recover Your Life This is an online forum that is run by and for people who self-harm.

They have information and advice about different issues. The Samaritans This is a listening service for anyone in distress including people who self-harm. Volunteers offer a listening service, along with coping strategies and signposting. Telephone : - 5pm to 10pm every night of the year. Text : - 5pm to 10pm every night of the year. Webchat : see website: www. Self-Harm Service This is an NHS national treatment service for people who self-harm a lot and have problems with their relationships with other people.

But the service will only accept you as a patient if you meet their eligibility criteria. You should also ask your GP if your local trust has any self-harm services or look on the trust website.

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Get help now. Advice and information About mental illness Learn more about symptoms Self-harm. Self-harm This section looks at what self-harm is and why you may self-harm. If you would like more advice or information you can contact our Advice and Information Service by clicking here.

Emma's friends had noticed something strange as well. Even when the weather was hot, Emma wore long-sleeved shirts. She had become secretive, too, like something was bothering her. But Emma couldn't seem to find the words to tell her mom or her friends that the marks on her arms were from something that she had done. She was cutting herself with a razor when she felt sad or upset. Injuring yourself on purpose by making scratches or cuts on your body with a sharp object — enough to break the skin and make it bleed — is called cutting.

Cutting is a type of self-injury , or SI. People who cut often start cutting in their young teens. Some continue to cut into adulthood. People may cut themselves on their wrists, arms, legs, or bellies. Some people self-injure by burning their skin with the end of a cigarette or lighted match.

When cuts or burns heal, they often leave scars or marks. People who injure themselves usually hide the cuts and marks and sometimes no one else knows.

It can be hard to understand why people cut themselves on purpose. Cutting is a way some people try to cope with the pain of strong emotions, intense pressure , or upsetting relationship problems. They may be dealing with feelings that seem too difficult to bear or bad situations they think can't change. Some people cut because they feel desperate for relief from bad feelings.

People who cut may not know better ways to get relief from emotional pain or pressure. Some people cut to express strong feelings of rage, sorrow, rejection, desperation, longing, or emptiness. There are other ways to cope with difficulties, even big problems and terrible emotional pain. The help of a mental health professional might be needed for major life troubles or overwhelming emotions.

For other tough situations or strong emotions, it can help put things in perspective to talk problems over with parents, other adults, or friends. Getting plenty of exercise also can help put problems in perspective and help balance emotions.

But people who cut may not have developed ways to cope. Or their coping skills may be overpowered by emotions that are too intense. When emotions don't get expressed in a healthy way, tension can build up — sometimes to a point where it seems almost unbearable. Cutting may be an attempt to relieve that extreme tension.

For some, it seems like a way of feeling in control. The urge to cut might be triggered by strong feelings the person can't express — such as anger, hurt, shame, frustration, or alienation.

People who cut sometimes say they feel they don't fit in or that no one understands them. A person might cut because of losing someone close or to escape a sense of emptiness. Cutting might seem like the only way to find relief or express personal pain over relationships or rejection. People who cut or self-injure sometimes have other mental health problems that contribute to their emotional tension.

Cutting is sometimes but not always associated with depression, bipolar disorder , eating disorders, obsessive thinking, or compulsive behaviors. It can also be a sign of mental health problems that cause people to have trouble controlling their impulses or to take unnecessary risks. Some people who cut themselves have problems with drug or alcohol abuse.

Some people who cut have had a traumatic experience, such as living through abuse , violence, or a disaster. Self-injury may feel like a way of "waking up" from a sense of numbness after a traumatic experience. Or it may be a way of reliving the pain they went through, expressing anger over it, or trying to get control of it. Although cutting may provide some temporary relief from a terrible feeling, even people who cut agree that it isn't a good way to get that relief.

For one thing, the relief doesn't last. The troubles that triggered the cutting remain — they're just masked over.