Why do people self harm?

[thegreatminderaser]

i think i do it because it makes me feel like i'm in control of something, something very direct cause & effect. i reason with myself that its deserved. it's also probably a silent cry for help to show i'm unwell/unstable, nobody usually takes the time to acknowledge it though

 

[TheFalseWidow]

I am a recovered schizo and I keep reading all your posts about SH and "quieting the noise". Do you ever feel that the noise is spiritual? Like this post if you hear voices

 

[GrayShadow]

I guess it's a way to get out my emotions without lashing out on other people, and it also weirdly calms me down?? It helps me when I'm in stressful situations somehow also.

 

[Pale_Rider]

My self harm is diffrent. I was trained to be a masochist by my parent. Apparently I was a masochist, because I couldn't control my ADHD and forgo the brutal beatings my parent often issued as a result of my hyperactivity, and inability to concentrate on anything for more then a few seconds.
I must have been a masochist. Why else would I be hyperactive, with the attention span of a fly? Those beatings were clearly warranted.

 

[spoonfed]

I do it when the mental/emotional pain gets too overwhelming and I'm on the verge of making an unprepared suicide attempt

Yes I get you, it's some really bad coping method I use to stop me doing something more permanent, it's just enough to take the edge off but it ultimately doesn't work because I know I'm cutting either more often or mostly I know I'm cutting deeper. I don't bother getting them seen too as some are as shallow as a scratch and some are way to deep to let a doctor have a look at never know what they will do or say, I also pick all the time so some don't get time to heal but I can sit for hours picking lost in my own little world

 

[littlecutecorpse]

sh'ing for the same reasons as most: finding relief when emotions get too overwhelming (or if i'm too bored). other times it's for self-discipline and make it more painful than it should be. or maybe just seeing myself shed blood is pretty to look at <3

 

[deadmanwalking1990]

H2S seems better just because of how fast it can cause LOC

What does LOC mean

 

[alixisbonez]

I do it because it's a habit or addiction now I guess and I crave the feeling and seeing it I used to do it when I got frustrated tho and had no other way to express how I felt bleeding felt like a fitting expression of how I felt In those moments

 

[Eschar]

I do it when my head gets too too loud and im unable to even know what its saying and not able to tell which feeling is coming through so the pain just help bring me down to somewhere I know

 

[memento-mori]

idk why i never wanted to

 

[3rdworldsadness]

I never self harmed cause i get abused by my mom...living with horrible birthgivers or having a life is already a self harm.

 

[ih34rty0u]

i do it to release the tension after something bad happens and to distract myself from my feelings

 

[corpse]

I can't cope without self-harm.

 

[CursedReality]

Haven't done it since the beginning of the year, and even longer than that before that. It was addicting when i did it, to the point where i could barely handle my thoughts.. best way i describe how it felt to me at the time was like there was a constantly scanning radio in my head. And the stinging wet feeling gave me focus enough to quiet the noise. I did eventually stop though, but the urge never really goes away completely, at least it didnt for me.

 

[BehindTheWorld]

honestly speaking, it feels good to take it out on myself. i've only gotten more violent towards myself and it became a progression towards cbt as the boundaries get pushed further and further. my feelings towards me become validated; i no longer feel like i'm "faking it" as many come to feel so.

 

[Lavínia]

Lately I've been doing this to mark myself, just for the scars. I want my body, even if simple, to be a record of my agony, for it to be in harmony with my pain. So I want to shatter it more and more. I've already done so much that I've eliminated any possibility of intimacy or close relationships, so now I'm going to continue destroying it.

 

[martyrdom]

It feels really, really good.

 

[mwl]

I personally do it because it makes me stop thinking for a moment. I get a brief reprieve from the thoughts that are running through my head, which hurt me much more than any physical harm.