BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Mental Health Depression and cutting

Why do depressed teenagers feel good after cutting. One teen said that he preferred biting. What is the connection between this self torture and depression? because they feel good after that.

I have a friend shes 44yrs old and shes a cutter she described a feeling of relief after cutting she cut her throat at christmas time and had 38stiches she cuts a couple of times a year. she is an alcoholic, which she is often depressed, its so sad when i'm on the phone with her and she starts to cut shes very calm during her cutting, i have called an ambulance for her so many times. i cut when i was 10yrs old i cut for attention i wanted my mother to notice me, she never did. i wish i knew the connection i have asked her many times, she just keeps saying she doesn't know why

This is very sad.

I think perhaps she DOES know. She just doesn't realise, or know that she knows... It's called denial...

And that's ok. That's not a judgement, but there is always a reason. ALWAYS a reason. And even if it is unfathomable to the person concerned, it IS there, nevertheless.
But oh! The courage, determination, perseverance, tears and anguish wrought in revealing it..... painful, or what?!

I've read that cutting distracts you from pain that's too hard to face - such as loneliness, not being noticed (Rosie, above you describe feeling neglected), abuse, or betrayal. It can turn into an "addiction" - as described by teens who cut. When I was a teen, I knew someone who carved his girlfriend's initials into his arm. When they broke up, he had to "fix" his scar by making new cuts.

When I was 18, my boyfriend would put his cigarette out on the back of his hand. I guess there's so much pain inside sometimes, it's easier to deal with physical pain on the outside.

Something happens when we cutthe body. The body reacts and that reaction changes the mood.

I'm 19. i was a cutter a few years ago. some teenagers do it because it's become a trend more than a sign of needing help. i did it, though, because of a...really really REALLY bad relationship when i was 14. I felt like i needed to punish myself for the things that i'd done. i always felt better for a week or 2 after i'd cut because i thought i'd gotten what i disserved. Eventually i worked on stopping because i realized i was the only one who hadn't forgiven...me. Like I said though, it really depends on the teenager. Some are really messed up and just need someone to understand them. others are out for acceptance and attention.

I have a friend who cuts.. not as much as she used to though. Actually a couple friends I know do or have.

But I think that in alot of cases, from the people I know, they do it simply because it hurts less than what they are dealing with on the inside. In a way, it's a distraction from the other pain in their life. Or for some, they don't know how to feel, so cutting is the only way they "really" feel something.

Sometimes, they do it for attention though. It is a strange thing, and can be very serious. But so many people do it for so many different reasons, its hard to just think of it as nothing... it's something that has always worried me about one friend in particular, but the weird thing is, she doesn't hide it. Her family knows, she's been fairly open about it, she let us take her to the hospital to get her help etc. so, I don't know really why, but those are some reasons that I've heard from those who do it.

Agree with what you said-
------------------------------------

But I think that in alot of cases, from the people I know, they do it simply because it hurts less than what they are dealing with on the inside. In a way, it's a distraction from the other pain in their life. Or for some, they don't know how to feel, so cutting is the only way they "really" feel something.

lala21