For me it's from abuse and self esteem, and sometimes as a side effect of my paranoia or anxiety.

I've been through a lot of shit. I lost my father when I was only 17 (a year and 2 weeks ago) I dealt with the pain everyday without medication until like august and then in november i started cutting because I just couldn't take being so strong. It helps me forget i guess. Not like forget the good memories but forget the bad and sad memories. Sure I regret cutting and scaring myself but it helps. Sorry for the long sob story. It feels good to finally tell someone this though.

Started as a punishment for me when I did something wrong and the anxiety that came with it. Now it's still predominately anxiety driven but I get triggered by more and more things like pretty much any negative emotions or vibes.

i feel it regulates me, and prevents me from suicide.

abuse, stress

I had a troubled childhood. It got to the point to where the emotional pain was too much to handle and I remembered seeing it on TV. So I gave it a try. They were barely scratches the first time. But it helped with the emotional pain. I could deal with physical pain. It helped calm me and it made the rest of it go away for a while. It quickly became addictive. I used to know the count though I have forgotten now but by the time I quit I had cut myself over 200 times. I still have scars though most of them have faded.

I haven't cut in over a year but when I used to I did it because I was so depressed that it seemed like the only option rather than kill myself. It calmed me down, it was a reason to wake up in the morning. It helped the voices too. But now I have found better meds and better coping skills.

I started cutting very young. When I use to cut it felt like the rest of the would slipped away. It was just me and the pain, nothing else mattered. I felt at peace, but it was always fleeting.

Self hatred from addiction and also emotional trauma from several different sources. Combine those with alcohol and I lose control and I cut and I cut severely. I've been to the ER twice because I couldn't stop the bleeding.

When there's so much emotion and shit that I can think or breathe, I cut to calm the storm. When I'm numb and isolated from emotion and caring, I cut to feel something, anything. When I feel I've failed or hurt someone, I cut to punish myself. And once I've started cutting I continue to cut because it's something I control.

It prevents me from killing myself or harming others. It helps me deal with pain that goes on in my life.

i cut to regulate my emotions from years of sexual and physical abuse. i cut when im stressed sad angry hurt happy manic suicidal alone and confused. ive been cutting for 34 years. i started when i was 8. it keeps me out of the hospital. i am addicted.

For me I think it's a coping mechanism for what ever is going on at the time. Not the best why to cope with situations.

i cut because i was molested, i have ptsd and many other symptoms of abuse

I cut because it is the only thing that helps. I've cut since I was 14 years old. It's been 3 years. I have tried 5 different antidepressants, 2 mood stabilizers, 2 weeks in a psychiatric unit, 2 different psychiatrists, more counselors then I can count. Still, cutting is the only thing that makes the pain stop even for just one or two blissful minutes. I can't kill myself until I'm 18 and moved out because I want to ease my family's pain as much as I can. So for now, I have to cut because it stops the pain and allows me to live.