Self-Injury Support Group

1. i do it to regain some semblance of control in my life. besides the emotional pain inside doesnt even compare a little bit to the pain inflicted by the cuts.

2. i always knew my oldest sister did it so one day after a reeeeeally bad day at work i did it. it relieved so much stress that i never stopped.

3. it pisses me off that other addictions have less stigma than cutting. people see smokers and alcoholics and, yeah, it's unfortunate, but omg if you're a cutter you're a psycho and they dont know how to respond. and they are totally intimidated/scared/worried about you. we are no more dangerous to anyone than smokers or heavy drinkers. and we are definitely less dangerous than, say, drug addicts who are so hard up that they will rob/mug/kill people to support their habit.

4. i do want to stop because i know it's not a healthy way to express my frustration. i havent been able to stop as of yet because i have yet to find a solution that works better to alleviate my stress and distresses.

hope this helps!

1. Helps me from feeling isaine, it shuts off all the crazy static going on in my head, it calms me down, and helps me think strait

2. well i used to scratch myself as a kid all the time, one day i through a picture frame and there was glass and it was almost instinct, i didnt do it again for almost a year, i did not even know it had a name or people did it, a couple years later after doing it more i realized others do it and it had the emo stigma so i never NEVER told anyone for fear of the stigma

3. We are not Emo, we are not attention seakers hell most of us take great lengths to hide it.

4. half of me wants to so i can be normal, not have to hide, the other half does not want to, im scared i cant go with out it

1.cutting releases me. all these emotions build up inside of me, and i have no way to gt rid of them. they boil and seethe, and i can't get rid of them. but when i cut, they all go away, like air hissing out of an air mattress. i do it because i don't know what else to do, and if i don't hurt myself, then i might hurt other people and i don't want to do that. i do it because im angry, upset, sad, self-loathing, or just plain overwhelmed.

2. i remember i thought about SI for a long time before i actually did it. when i got really upset or frustrated, id feel like hurting myself. the impulses didn't make sense, and i held off on it for a while. the first time i scratched myself, i had such a hellish day. my parents were riding me so hard, yelling at me, wouldn't leave me alone for a second. i couldn't get away from the harsh reproaches. i had all this turmoil inside, and i just didn't know how to make it go away. i had been suicidal in the past, and was trying to avoid that line of thinking. next thing i know i have a knife from the kitchen and im scratching my arms with it. i didn't know what i was doing. i just knew it felt great. the pain, the burning, i loved it. when it was done, everything that had gone wrong that day had disappeared. it didn't matter anymore. i looked at the scratches on my arm and thought they looked.....nice....sad to say that was just the beginning.

3. what i want people to know about cutters is that we're mentally ill. i hate it that people treat us like freakshows and attention whores. we're just like everybody else, except we're sick, and social stigma makes it hard for us to get better. they confine us to the shadows, and laugh at us. that's what makes me mad. laughing at sick people. it's disgusting they way they treat us. and we're not emo. we come in all shapes and sizes, races, religions, ages, genders, etc. i want people to know that this isn't something to whisper about, it's just another ailment. and it's an addiction. lots and lots of people self medicate, and most do it with alcohol. we do it with blood. i think people are cruel because they just don't understand, and i hope this project you do sheds some light on the subject. you can tell them from me to stop being heartless douche bags with sticks up their butt and be compassionate human beings for once. (uh, sorry. sometimes i rant a bit)

4. yes, i want to stop. well......um. i want to stop because i want to make a difference in the world, and for that to happen i need to get better. i haven't cut in about six months. the only way i was able to stop was because i found something i want more than the cutting. and i wanted the cutting bad. still do. i miss it. my security blanket, my coping mechanism. it's gone. but im committed to getting better and making something of myself, so i tough it out. sometimes i feel like im only quitting for now, and i think that makes it a little easier, to let myself think i can come back to it.

1. how does cutting help you or why do you do it?

The inability to express verbally emotions and feelings that are suppressed. Imploding in various situations to the point you can no longer take it and have to release it somehow. It seems to be the best way to handling situations and is a coping mechanism for pain, loss, grieving, insecurities, and shame.


2. do you remember how you started?

I remember taking paperclips and breaking them in half and using the sharp edge to scratch myself when I was young. Obviously through the years, as the addiction progresses and more life is experienced , there are more red tears to be released and more methods are learned.

3. what is one thing you want people to know about cutters?

I want people to know that cutting is no different than any other addiction out there and it’s our way of handling situations or emotions that others handle with a crack pipe or by popping pills. Not only are we forced to hide the fact that we self-injure but are left with having to then for the rest of our lives hide the scars. If we ever do find the strength to stop the addiction and build our self-esteem to the point where we wear a short sleeve shirt one day out of three hundred and sixty five days a year, the preconceived notions from of our judgmental, uneducated society on self-injury, forces us to go back in the shadows of our hidden pain in fear. Fear of what others think and what could happen if the wrong person finds out. A person lighting up a cigarette isn’t put into a hospital against their will for being a danger to themselves.

4. do you want to stop? if you do, why do you and why can't you? if you dont want to, why not?

I do want to stop. I don’t know how. Cutting keeps me alive!


I honestly think a valid point to bring to discussion on your assignment is the fact that this generation you find an increase of self-injury predominant in is who is going to be running our nation, the future leaders of America. Its not just cutting that is the issue. Its losing verbal communication in general. Cutting is just the extreme example of this. Kids as young as seven years old have cell phones now. We text our thoughts and emotions. We break up relationships through text messages. We blog our feelings on websites. We have lost or are losing gradually this crucial skill. Not everyone can afford health care. Not everyone can afford anti-depressants monthly. Not everyone knows how or where to get help for their cutting, and when I say help I don’t mean a hotline….I mean support groups like NA meetings every night when they get the urge to use! We flock to this website in hopes of finding support when we are desperate for help, and what are we doing? We are TYPING our emotions out. Journaling on a website. No verbal communication when we are in dire need of help. So if this is the only help that thousands of people can get for the inability to verbally express the emotions boiling inside and on the urge of cutting, how are we supposed to learn healthier ways of handling our distress? It is the entire process that needs to be re-evaluated or understanding of what our future holds in terms of sensitivity and compassion for human beings. Your devils advocate to this will say, there are counselors and therapists. Again, especially with the declining economic state and trauma caused thereafter, not everyone can afford this and when counselors or therapists find out about self-injury they are inclined to commit you for your own “safety”.

1. Cutting helps me release all the pain I hold in. It's a way to cope with stress, anger, and all the others I seem to stuff inside. It's a huge release.

2. Yes, I was 13 and had a terrible day. I was alone in my room and just done it. It was a HUGE release. I felt so good afterward and I've been doing it since.

3. That it's a way of coping. It's just like other addictions, we do have feelings and we're not crazy! We can't just stop! It's not that easy!

4. I do want to stop. I'm scared to though. Scared I wont be able to face life without it. I've tried to stop but I always turn back to cutting. It's my way to escape.

1. I do it cos i can't handle the severe emotional pain, i also feel that when i cut i am releasing all the bad things that have happened to me in my life. It feels like for a brief second everything bad goes away.
2. It was just before the first time i tried to kill myself. I was so mad and i went to the bathroom grabbed a razor and started slashing. I'd never in my life heard of anyone doing this and i don't know why i did it, it felt like i wasn't even myself.
3. That not one of us is the same. We are all ages and races. We all need help.
4. I used to cut on a daily basis for a number of years. I stopped after 3 years of intensive therapy. I only do it occasionally now, I am much better at getting through a situation. I do want to completely stop and i think i am on my way.

* It helps to get my pain out from inside me. It's hard to explain and probebly doesn't make much sense but when i bleed i beleive that all of the badness and poison inside of me escapes my body.
People who know me now know that I self harm so in a way it's showing them that I am hurting, without me having to say that(i'm quite a stubborn person!!)
* I started because of my ex. At the time I was becoming depressed, I was applying for uni, had work problems, college problems+I also thought I was pregnant. My boyfriend dumped me by text +I just couldn't get my head around it.I thought I was in love+that I really needed him.I was lonely+in a way I wanted to show him how much he had hurt me even though he had no idea I was doing this to myself. New years eve we slept together+I really thought he loved me 1 wk later he was with someone else+I started self harming even more+eventually tried taking my own life.
* Self harm just ISN'T cutting!!! It comes in many different forms: biting,scratching, pulling hair out, breaking bones, scalding, burning. Even smoking or drinking are forms of self harm, they are STILL harming your body!!! Also it's not just teenage girls who do it. People of all ages, male or female do it!!!
* I'm trying for my boyfriend!!! He was a cutter(he isn't any more)+it makes him sad to know that i've hurt myself. So I don't because hurting him is worse than anything!!! He's my rock + I need him+I won't let what my ex did to me fuck up the best relationship I have ever had!!!!

1.cutting helps me because i feel like if im under a lot of pressure i cant breathe and feel suffocated so if i cut i let the air out. if im seriously frustrated and stressed or just plain angry i do it. its weird though because its like ur lookking at someone else doing it u dont realise ur doing it until a while later when u see the marks and ur like shit i actually did that and thathats the worst part of it

2. i got kicked out of home and moved in with dad but my brother and sister wudnt talk to me and my mam was aswel and i was just so upset and didnt no what to do so i told my friend how i was feeling and she told me she used to cut and it started from there

3 i just think people need to realise that its a serious problem thats getting worse and that the we need help when we ask for it

4 i really want to stop i did for 4 months or so and started anger management and i got super stressed over it and fell off the wagon again unfortunately. im trying so hard now to stop and its going ok i guess. fingers crossed its stays good :)

1. how does cutting help you or why do you do it?
Cutting does a lot of things for me. When I am feeling too much, it helps me let out the emotions, when I am anxious it calms me down, and when I am numb it reminds me that I am still alive.

2. do you remember how you started?
I had gotten into a fight with my parents one night, and I was crying. I locked myself in the bathroom and got a razor and just started cutting my leg into ribbons.

3. what is one thing you want people to know about cutters?
We don't, well, most of us don't, cut for attention. We do it because we are hurting on the inside.

4. do you want to stop? if you do, why do you and why can't you? if you dont want to, why not?
I can't decide if I want to stop or not. It's the only coping skill that makes me feel completely better, but it also really upsets my friends and family.

In case you wanted insight from a "recovered" cutter, and if you wanted some scientific info on the issue of cutting, well, here you go:

1. How does cutting help?
*Cutting releases endorphins into the body, which helps distract the brain from other senses of pain, and makes the body react similar to how it does after a vigorous exercise. Because of this, cutting makes one "feel good".

*When I started cutting, it helped me take my mind- momentarily- off of whatever it was that was bothering me. It allowed me to focus on something else. It was a control issue, and bodily harm allowed me to be in control when I felt that I was losing grip on everything else.


2. Do you remember how it started?
*Yes, I do. Originally, I had been reading up on cutting after reading a book, and at the time I was going through some emotional issues. I tried it just to see how it would affect me, and found that it seemed to have a positive affect on me- even though in retrospect I find that it didn't. This was in 9th grade (I'm not a college sophomore).


3. What is one thing...?
*Cutting is an addiction, a compulsion, and an obsession. Just like recreational drugs, once you start and the chemicals get to going in the brain, it brings you to a high. However, it has to noticeable effects that other people can see, except for any exposed scars/cuts. Also like drugs, once you get that first taste, you want to keep doing it. Thus, the addiction. It is also a compulsory act. Once you get into a rhythm of doing it after so long, it almost becomes routine. You know you're going to do it even before you do it, all the way up until right before you do it, and then before you know it, it's done, and you can hardly remember placing the blade to your skin. That happened with me. I would think about it and think about it and think about it. Until whatever tool I was using was in my hand, and then I would almost be absent from the scenario, until after the "pain" went away. Then I would see my cut and would almost not be able to recall actually doing it, even though I had been thinking about it all day. Thus, the compulsion. Some people do become obsessed with it. Once you get used to actually cutting yourself, some people need to do it, have to do it, and practically do so religiously. They can't get enough of it. Thus, the obsession.


4. To stop or not to stop?
*Like I said before, I'm a "recovered" cutter. I use quotations because, like anyone else who has stopped something like this, the flavor of the "pain" is always in the back of your mind. It's almost like being on Crystal. You can stop doing it, and it's hard, but when you do, you're sort of relieved. For the first few days. Then you want it all over again. If you're successful, you manage to not do it. I haven't cut in almost 2 years, and I still have days where all I want to do is drag the blade across any part of me, but I manage not to. When I did stop, I really wanted to stop. I realized that it really didn't make any problems go away. It only made more problems for me, because I would have to constantly make excuses for any cuts that anyone saw, for any scars. After so many years, I would look at a scar, and remember every detail attached to it, and it disgusted me. Now, I find myself fantasizing about it, but I have a good support system for not "relapsing".


Good luck on your project!