hey I'm a 13 year old so i understand all about this kind of stuff. mostly. you see some teens may start cutting because of peer pressure so that they fit in with a certain group of teens. most however may be depressed and don't want to commit suicide but want to do some form of harm so they may cut. and some may use it to relieve stress. some like the pain. and for some it takes there minds of things happening in their life. i hope this helps!

By the way if you have any questions you can ask me or i would recommend asking darkeye's, or precious. they know a bit more than me ans most likely can explain it better.

people self injure for different reasons.....i self injured because i was overwhelmed at times and wanted to focus on something other than the emotions that were inside my head, i felt numb and i wanted to feel something even if it was pain and because i wanted to punish myself.....i can't tell why your teens self injure, because everyone is different.....my parents had a wide range of emotions when they found out....i was in college when i admitted to them that i was self injuring on a regular basis.....i came home for mental health reasons and a few months they found out that i had self injured and they made me sleep in their room....my mom slept with me i her bed and my dad slept on the floor at the door of the room so i couldn't leave....needless to say, that didn't help at all....i would try to talk to your kids and gently ask them why they feel like they need to hurt themselves....something like,"i love you and you know i do.....i'm very concerned about what's going on.....i want to make sure that you're all right......please help me understand what's going on...." they might open up they might not...another option is therapy....it's helped me a lot and i think it's a step in the right direction......i hope this helped....if you ever wanna talk, please feel free to message me

Thank y'all for the input! I just want to understand!

I cut because I get scared I'll have no future or cause I get suicidal.
I also have Borderline Personality Disorder, which has in the criteria for a diagnosis of this disorder that we self harm and recurrent suicidal behavior.
Even though you can harm yourself without the intention to die.

I'm 21 and i've been struggling with cutting on and off since I was 12. I know it can be really difficult to understand if you haven't experienced it, and especially as a concerned parent. It took my mom a long time to understand why I did it and understand that I wasn't trying to kill myself and it wasn't because of something she did wrong. The reasons for self harming vary a lot from person to person. Some people have numerous reasons that they do it. For me it was a way to cope with childhood trauma. I had severe depression and anxiety from a young age and It was easier for me to feel the physical pain than to try to cope with the emotional pain. The pain was also a distraction and it was also a way to punish myself for what happened to me because I felt a lot of shame. As my mental illnesses got worse I used cutting as a way to cope with every bad feeling because I had no ability to cope with anything. from a psychological standpoint, cutting and other forms of self harm actually release endorphins in your brain that calm you down. I also have used it to cope with dissociation (to bring myself back to reality), which is one of the major things I deal with frequently as a result of what I finally found out 4 years ago is Borderline personality disorder. self harm and suicidal ideation are also symptoms of bpd, but not everyone who self harms has bpd. self harming is difficult to treat because there is no clear cut reason for it, but the earlier treatment begins the better.

Hey there... I'm 18, turning 19 soon and I've been a self-harmer since 2012. In my case, I tend to cut or bruise my head as a way to feel in control. For example, when I'm too anxious or down and I need to avoid breaking down in front of family/friends/at college/in public. Or when I feel numb, as in unable to react properly to certain specific situations; as other have said, to deal with emotional pain, because of suicidal thoughts, or to "match" what I feel in the inside with my outside. My parents, family in general and most of my friends don't know about my self harm/ED/OCD/depression/anxiety cuz I'm aware of the opinion they have on mental illness and I'm afraid of their reaction... This just hinder the peocess of getting help so please try to be as supportive as possible with your teens and don't judge even if it's very difficult for an "outsider" to be able to understand completely.

Hey there. I'm 22 and have been cutting on and off for about 8 years. When I started, I think I wanted attention, because I wasn't getting enough at home. I just wanted someone to care about me. It has sort of shifted over the years to help me feel numb and to feel in control of something. I'm sure it's very hard to understand as a parent. My parents still don't know I did it. They never seemed to notice. I really wish I could have gone to them for help, but I never felt like I could. Make sure you are available to your kids. Be there for them if they need to talk, but make sure you are a reliable source for them. (Even if I told my mother, she would have blabbed about it to her friends.) Also, don't force them into doing anything they don't want to do. I had friends that forced me into therapy and it didn't help. It honestly made things worse because I didn't want to go and I felt like I couldn't trust my friends anymore. They basically gave me an ultimatum and I just wanted someone to care about me. So, please don't force your kids into anything unless it's a life or death situation. It might just make things worse. Make sure they take care of their wounds so they don't get infected. Make sure you tell them you love them. Also, understand that they probably won't be able to just stop doing it. I stopped cutting 6 months ago, I slipped up once, and I think about doing it every single day. It's a very hard addiction to get over. I really hope you can help your kids! If you ever need anything, let me know.

It's really hard to understand when you aren't going through it so I sincerely hope we can help you understand.

I started when I was 13 as a way to cope with my mom dating and severe sexual abuse. I'm 34 now and it helps relieve severe stress and pain that tears just don't relieve. O can cry for days and the pain just gets worse. As odd as it sounds cutting releases this pain. Sometimes out helps alleviate depression even if it is just temporary. Let me make this part very clear..... I never use it as a suicide attempt.... Ever!!!! It's just a way to release the pain. If you have any questions you can private message me. I'll answer as best I can.

Sorry I didn't proof read that and there are a lot of grammatical errors. I hope it makes sense to you.

Thank y'all so much! You have all been so very helpful.

I've added you all to my prayer list and hope y'all can find what you need to help you.

Again...thanks! I need knowledge to really help those I love!

People cut for different reasons. It could be from family issues, bullying, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, etc...