Self Harm

These are just some of my thoughts and opinions on why people self-harm. Please don't take this as an official guide. Many of the ideas here I have discussed at length with both SI'ers and non-SI'ers and I think I have quite a good understanding of a lot of the reasons behind it. I would like to point out that I can only speak from the point of view of a cutter and if anyone would like to add anything to this section then please, please feel free to e-mail me.... all contributions help to make this site better and more accessible to everyone. Thanks.

Reasons for self-harm

• TAKING CONTROL. The feeling that many,or in some cases all, aspects of your life are controlled by other people is often a catalyst for self harm. Particularly for young people who find that at school they are controlled by teachers and at home by their parents, of course there is nothing wrong per se with this but it is the feeling of a need to take control of some part of their lives which leads to self-mutiltating acts. The cliched "It's my body and I can do what I like with it" is a big issue here.

• CRY FOR HELP. I am loathe to refer to this as attention seeking but for some people that is basically what it is. Visible forms of pain such as cuts, burns, loss of weight are put there to show people that there is something wrong inside. It's a cry for help from someone who may find it difficult to talk to people about their problems and would generally keep things bottled up inside. Self-harm offers the chance to show other people that you are hurting inside and that you need a helping hand.

• PLEASURE. Many self-harmers find the actual act very pleasurable. Cutters often like the sight of the blood and the feel of the skin being cut. A slightly more medical view of this is that the body's natural defense mechanism to pain is a release of adrenaline, it is this which makes the act of self-harm so "addictive". The deeper you cut the more adrenaline is released and the "buzz" you get from this makes it feel good.

• PUNISHMENT. Feelings of self hatred and worthlessness often lead to people believing that they are bad and need to be punished. All forms of self harm can be used as a way of punishing what the harmer regards as "bad" behaviour.

• VENTING. A lot of people find it hard to talk to others about things that are bothering or worrying them and keep it bottled up inside. A common feeling described by self-harmers is of things building up inside them, a feeling like they're going to explode if they don't do something to get it all out in the open. The result of harming oneself brings a feeling of calm, and of everything feeling OK inside... putting the hurt on the outside.

• IMAGE PROBLEMS. In some cases the act of harming oneself is a way of showing that you dislike the way you look. Marking the body to show that it doesn't matter how it looks and that it is not worth anything is often a common reason amongst those with low self-esteem and bad body image.

• FEELINGS OF EMPTINESS. Often the act of self harm is done to overcome feelings of emptiness, or numbness. It sometimes feels like you are totally nothing inside, you need something to prove that you are real... that there is something inside, and that you can feel.