ye at 38 i feel stupid too. like i should have outgrown it yrs ago.thats cos they stereotype it as a teenage girl problem. being on here does make me feel slightly better- just knowing im not the only older one still stupid enough 2 do it

I don't know if you want advice from a 20 year old, but here it goes, I think no matter what age you are cutting helps us cope with the stress and dificulties of daly life, it helps us survive life. People who are on the outside looking in may argue that cutting doesn't help it only makes things worse, but I beg to differ. It has helped me.

Hi, I'm 46, and have been injuring myself since I was in high school. I agree--it seems weird to be this age and still doing this to myself. It's good to know that I 'm not alone.

I'm 48 (and 1/2 ;-) & I started over 30 years ago...BUT I've finally reached the point of no longer having the desire to do it. This came pretty recent, I'd say last couple of months....so don't feel stupid at all! It took a long time (obviously) of therapy, years of misdiagnosis, finally getting the right meds, and lots of patience and work and just getting older and tired of it myself. I gotta say though...the biggest help was the new med and right diagnosis and a doc that freakin' listened and didn't just hand out pills. Get yourself the right kind of help from people you can trust cuz this crap IS beatable. Shit, may take some of us too damn long...but it can be done.

we are always too old to be doing it =]

I love that...jndoe!
I am 35 and still have the urges but like esoteric, I have been through major therapy etc...
I don't cut, but sometimes the urge is still there and *stonge* I might add.
Good luck to you. I hope you can find some help/therapy or other ways of dealing with the cause. All my best to you!

with age comes wisdom..... not the answers to everything. besides, no matter how long we've aged.... we're still human.

I dunno if this helps but I recently found out a family friend has been si since she was 16 and she is now 47.
I guess there is no "set" age to stop si i suppose its what people know helps them so i dont know, im only 19 so i dont really know but I do know you shouldnt feel stupid

guy..I got your message....first...a year and a half is nothing hon...really!! And you sound as if you've given up & you and I both know you can win NO battle that way!! So perhaps when you allow yourself to stop feeling "stupid" and replace that with allowing yourself to feel the respect or love or whatever it is you need....maybe the reason you cut will lessen a bit and the urge will lessen....? Just a thought...it's all about how we see ourselves and the crap we feed into our brains....replace those thoughts and the urges shift....you surely are more deserving....older than me or not...:-D

Well I don't really have an advice. I just wanted to say that I am really glad that someone else feels they are "too old" to be doing this. I am thirty one and I only started cutting a few years ago. I feel weird because not only am I older but I didn't start it in my teens like they say most people start it. I don't know what triggered it or why I choose this "method" of dealing with things. Obviously I don't wish this upon anyone, but I am glad that I am not the only older person who does this.

hey, forget being 'too old' we all know we shouldn't really be doing this, right? whatever our age (i'm only 18). i know it's stereotyped as a teenage thing, but you can see from this site that you're not alone in being older and still cutting

Heya im 16 and i self harmed since i was 12. I think self harm can happen at any age really and its like an addiction and hard to stop. Sometimes i wonder wether i will do it for the rest of my life i hope i wont but like i said its an addiction and its hard to beat. Ive seen a few older men with scars on there arms which are obviously from SI dont worry your not alone xxx

its not about age...its about the way u feel...u cud be 9 or 90...its just the way we cope

I am 44 been cutting since age 9. Self injury is an addiction and its not gonna go away just because we are old. You are either a practicing or non practicing cutter but once a cutter always a cutter. You can put your addiction into relapse but it doesnt make you any less an addict.