http://www.coolnurse.com/self-injury.htm

Cutting seems to be the most common type of self-injury. "Cutters" often use razors, utility knives, scissors, needles, broken glass, or whatever they find to make repetitive slices on their arms, legs or other body parts. Some people burn themselves with cigarettes or lighters, others pull out their own hair. Many people who self-injure say they do it because they normally feel "numb" and cutting helps them to "feel alive." Others talk about the "sense of control" they may get from self-injury. This may be the first time or thing that they have felt a sense of control in their lives. Most agree that incidents of self-injury are triggered by stress and anxiety.

Why Do People Self-Injure?

This problem is not completely understood by health care professionals or psychologists. It seems to be most common among people who have been sexually abused as children, molested as children, or by survivors of incest.

Whatever the context or reason, self-injury seems to function as a coping mechanism. "Cutters" use self-harm to feel calm, "in control," or just to "feel something." However, self-injury is not a healthy coping mechanism - it is a self-destructive behavior that probably reflects deeper, more complicated mental health or personal problems. (See the end of this article for some quotes and "stories" of people who self-injure).

Some Common Factors of Self-Injury

 Age of onset between 10 - 16 years old There was a major change in the teen's life -- parents divorce or death There is a history of family violence, abuse or sexual abuse Intense feelings of fear, hurt, anger, rejection or abandonment Feelings of¾ loss and or need for control 

Some Common Reasons Why People Cut Themselves These are some of the reasons our readers who "cut" shared with us.

 They find it soothing: To feel pain on the outside instead of the inside To cope with feelings To express anger towards themselves To feel alive and real 

 A way of communicating what they can't say with words: To tell people they need¾ help To get people's attention To tell people they should be in hospital 

 An attempt to get people to react to their actions: To get people to care for them To make other people feel guilty To drive people away To get away from stress and responsibility To manipulate situations or people 

Triggering Events Reported by Young Adults Who Self-Injure:

 Being rejected by someone who is important to them Being blamed for something over which they had no control Feeling inadequate Being "wrong" in some way