Discussion Why do some people SH?

[KillingPain267]

Does it give you relief from mental pain?

 

[Jorms_McGander]

Yep, more or less. It's actually not very effective across contexts that a person may find themselves in, but the endorphin rush of pain does indeed dull extremes of emotion.

You can achieve the same endorphin rush by doing a wall-sit for 60 seconds, though, so it's not like a secret coping mechanism.

 

[LoiteringClouds]

Does it give you relief from mental pain?

Yes, I felt good when I cut but my case might sound strange.

In 2014 I started to cut my arm in order to attract medical attention.
I considered visiting a psychiatrist because I felt extremely low and I suspected I had depression, but I was afraid of being treated like a whiny teenager who complains about minor inconvenience, because I had heard "Feeling low during hard time isn't depression. Just keep going." several times. I was looking for a job then.
So I deliberately started to cut my arm in order to show how much I was suffering. I even practiced it several times until I got noticeable scar. Then I went to a psychiatrist and showed my scars. He diagnosed me with "neurosis" (the archaic name of "generalized anxiety disorder") and prescribed me a benzo.

But after the first visit to my psychiatrist I couldn't stop cutting for a while, because it felt so good. Physical pain distracted my helpless feeling. And it greatly alleviated my sense of shame - I thought I was mentally ill and deserve treatment, not judgement.

I kicked my self-harm habit in 2017 and benzos in 2020, but my right arm still has scars. I don't recommend anybody self-harm, but that habit saved my life then.

 

[Ares]

Used to be cathartic. Realized how useless and meaningless it was, lost all fondness for it. Excercise is a better, more painful, and constructive alternative for me.

 

[eatantz]

For me its a punishment, i do it out of anger for myself. I want to murder me, I hate myself so much that I want to be in pain. It also helps me relax it reminds me that im only human and one day my suffering will be over

 

[EvisceratedJester]

Does it give you relief from mental pain?

Yes, but only for a very short period of time. It wears off very quickly. It's also a common self punishment tactic too.

 

[EmptyHeaded]

I just do it because I have nothing better to do.

 

[sedationgapmoe]

It does nothing for me TBH. It used to give me catharsis and (what I thought was) a clearer mind but now it's just, like, whatever. I just feel numb. I dunno.

 

[4am]

for fun

 

[soulkitty]

Mostly to relieve extreme emotional pain, when I don't have access to anything else that can relieve it, or when I'm having a panic attack. Also seeing the blood is calming, I almost like seeing the blood. It just feels nice for some reason, it grounds me. It makes me feel in control of my mind when my mind is chaotic. I also have done it to punish myself because I think I deserve it, a vile human being like me doesn't deserve to have normal skin. I know this is probably not very good, but sometimes the scars are comforting. Except when other people see them, I hate when they see them. The feelings of guilt and shame and dissapointment after relapsing really sucks