It's not just the scars that people worry about

. Blood loss can lead to anemia which can decrease the oxygen that gets to all parts of your body, can damage or kill body tissues including your heart and brain

you can get infections, tetanus is a big one (even if the blade isnt rusted and you disinfect it)...that kills you...

.you can cut too deep or nick an artery without meaning to...

Almost always smaller cuts are followed by deeper and deeper ones...you need more to get the same effect after a while

I don't mean for it to sound harsh its just the facts that I'm stating. I'm here if you need to talk k? I've been si free for just over 1 and a half years

I understand that it can kill me, I understand that it hurts the people around me, I understand that it only makes things worse, I understand all of this and yet I still can't register it. I can't get it through my head that It's really that bad. In my head it isn't bad, it's just a thing.

It may not SEEM so bad right now, but you will Eventually become addicted to it. You won't be able to go a few hours without cutting. It will rule your life and you will think of nothing else but cutting. Believe me, I know.... I've been there before. Fortunately I was able to go to cutters "rehab" and break my addiction. Never again will I go there again. It's just not worth it.

I believe I am addicted, I've been doing it for years and yet and I can't seem to wrap my head around it, not this time

Just think about how you would feel if you knew someone you loved started cutting. Would you want them to stop?

just my own personal story i cut. i had the same mental state as you asking myself why it was so bad. i found out someone who i am very very close to started cutting. i was absolutly devestated. you might not care or see the big deal but other people do.

I think that the worst thing about cutting is not the cuts themselves, the scars, or even the potential consequences (unless of course you do nick an artery or contract tetanus).

In gereral, I think the worst part is the emotions (or lack of) that the cuts represent. All the hatred, the anger, hating ourselves, not being able to express emotions, not feeling ANYTHING...

I understand your feelings, I have been having a hard time understanding why its so bad myself... Not to piss everyone here off, but there is a train of thought within psychology that stays cutters should not be asked to give up cutting until they have found and are comfortable with a more healthy alternative... The long term effects of cutting are bad, we can all agree with that, but in the short term, a forced lack of cutting can lead to more drastic and dangerous behavior... I guess the way I look at it, I try not to feel too bad about it, and use it as necessary, as long as I am making a conscious effort to find healthy alternatives.... I know I probably just pissed a lot of people off, but such is life...

I like what you have to say, scarletjaded, whether you pissed people off or not. I really like it, it makes sense and I had never heard that before.

And by the way, to the people up top, I do have two close friend that cut, one had pretty much stopped and the other says he wants to, I don't know but I know how it feels to be the friend watching the situation as well as the one causing the friend pain. I know.

Besides the stated reasons people (and society in general IMO) fear what they don't understand. I know with the friends that now know about my cutting its always the same questions, why, how, does it help? They don't get how physical pain can be a remedy for emotional pain, or lack of emotions all together.

and i do agree with scarletjaded that stopping cold turkey with no safe alternative can lead to other risky behavior.

i cut because i cannot deal with negative emotions and the physical pain is easier to deal with than the emotional pain, so for me cutting is bad because instead of facing my emotions and dealing with the cause I am hiding from them and that solves nothing
hugs
Andrea

Okay, firstly: are you in treatment or are speaking to a therapist for this issue? If not, may I ask why? While I don't totally disagree with the suggestion that "going cold turkey will cause more harm than good," I do disagree that it's an excuse to continue on the path of cutting.
You may not understand why others think it's a big deal; but that's not the issue. Point is: why are you doing it? Why does it make you feel a release? Are you running away from something? If it's an addiction - and you're still a teenager - do you understand that it needs to be controlled and stopped NOW before you end up looking like a mutilated woman?
I am 26, have learned to control most of it, but am fresh off an incident where I full on stabbed myself. Stabbed. When you push the boundaries and get comfortable with the pain, you're in big BIG danger.

I'm not in treatment, I should probably be but I'm just not.

Well admitting that you probably should be in treatment is a big step in the right direction.

and yes like RibbonBear suggested do it before its to late in someways. I can't go shirtless with out odd looks, and after last month if i can ever truly wear shorts again it wont be a for long long time.

As someone who is a recovering cutter, but also a student in the MACP (Master's degree in counseling) I plan to deal with clients by letting them cut, as one said here, till they have better coping skills. It goes against ethical rules, but but sometimes it's the only way. As long as the client is willing to show me the cuts to be sure it isn't life threateneing.