Terms used to label those who self-injure. (possibly triggering)
 

Earlier this evening I was doing some research for a family member of mine who is only 16 years old. He deals with severe anxiety and does drugs to cope with this. Trying to find some healthier coping mechanisms, I stumbled across the Boys' Town Hotline website. After reading and sending him a few links to some info I thought might help him, I went on to read what this organization says about self injury.

The one term that I absolutely abhor is the the term 'cutter'. Firstly, we know that cutting is not the only form of S.I. Secondly, I've found that the stigma associated with that term is not all that... good, to say the least.

I've thought about writing them an email, but I'm not really sure what to say.

Am I the only one that absolutely HATES that term?

i hate it when people just go 'oh so ur one of them' and then watch ur move around knives

not all ppl who SH cut as well and we all do it for different reasons

Back in the early 2000's the term wasn't "cutter", but it was "emo". Having self made cut marks on your body meant that you were emo, even though emo rock and self harm are totally different things.

I personally think the term should be what it actually is... someone who injures themselves. Calling someone a "cutter", "emo", "psycho", or some other dumb name, really takes away from the seriousness of the issue.

I hate that term, too. >.<

I also really hate that nowadays "scene" is related to self-harm.

Cutter doesn't really bother me...emo/scene bothers me.slightly more as it makes it sound like its a teenage thing,which being 30 kinda makes me feel a little like "shouldn't still be doing.it"

emo/scene really bothers me.

I used to get called an emo at school. It never bothered me. I just laughed and said I was an emu.
After they saw it didn't bother me, they just got bored of it.

I've never been called an emo.

I have had people (professionals) make cutting motions on their arms when talking about self harm. I don't cut.

I don't really hate the term "cutter", I just don't see the point in naming a specific method of self harm if you're not going to name other methods. Some self harmers have never cut themselves. What stops people from calling people "burners/wrist bangers/hitters/punchers" it just seems silly to me.

Also it feels like the term "cutter" almost invalidates other methods of self harm that perhaps don't leave scars, wrist banging, hitting, punching etc.

I've actually never heard anyone use the term except online.

Nor accusations of being emo although I don't recall self harm being discussed much when I was at school.

I do think it trivialises self harm somewhat though.

I personally really don't like the phrase cutter (or self mutilator! yuk!), and it does bug me a little when its used in a professional context, and also i just see it as a way of isolating people who self harm and just in general like others have said taking away from the seriousness of it.
However if someone is comfortable using it themselves then i dont see it as a problem, but i just dont feel others should use the term on anyone else and neither should professionals.

After a suicide attempt I was refused stitches by an A&E doctor because (his words) "cutters will just cut them out, it's a waste of time" I'd never had stitches before, he had no basis for that comment, the wound healed badly and caused me a lot of problems due to it not being stitched.

I don't hate the term "cutter" but I do hate being denied proper medical treatment due to a stereotype.

I too don't really like the term cutter, I think it can be very misleading to people who don't understand self-harm. Not everyone who harms cuts themselves, some will never have scars but that doesn't mean that we don't suffer from the same thing. I also hate the term self-mutilation, ugh hate hate hate it.

Thanks guys for your insight! I've never been called 'emo' or 'scene', but then again I guess I don't (didn't) actually look the part. I was in high school in the early 2000's and most of the school had found out after I was sent away to rehab. When I finally returned, everyone was calling me a 'cutter' and I guess that's where my hatred for the term stems.

@Lau,

Mutilation is another term that I absolutely find disgusting. Personally, in any attempt I have made to harm myself, my intent wasn't to mutilate my body. It was to relieve the feelings I had of insecurity and anxiety. I don't regret anything that I've done in my life. Everything I've done, I've learned valuable lessons from. The one thing, however, I do regret is turning to such a drastic measure of coping. I hate the scars that are left behind both mentally and physically; but in hindsight, again, my 'addiction' is something that has given me strength to make me the person I am today.

i struggle with doctors calling it "self mutilation"... i do understand that that is the technical name put in the dsmv and other stuff, but its just wrong. "mutilation" is bodily harm that is so bad that it is permanently disfiguring, removes a body part, or causes physical handicaps (ex: acid on face, leg mangled in a propeller), not a small scar...

"Cutter" bothers me for two reasons.

1) Not every person who self harms cuts, there are other methods and it kind of invalidates other forms to me.

2) It's like, a label, it's "YOU'RE A CUTTER, YOU'RE STUCK FOR LIFE" rather than 'a person who harms themselves'. It's like putting them in this box, and generalizing and stereotyping them, which is bad, because it leads to ignorance from other people, but it can also give this person a bad sense of identity, like "yeah, I'm a cutter", and they consider that sort of who they are instead of something they do, and they just dive down and get sucked more and more into it.

"Cutter" isn't something you are, it's something you DO.

When I was in school 'Goth' was synonymous with 'self-harmer'. Which was really awkward given that I did actually dress like a Goth when I began self-harming, in true prejudice-perpetuating fashion.

Can't stand cutter or emo.
Luckily the term 'emo' hasn't been a problem since around year 7-8.

I have a slight issue with any terms with '-er' on the end, because it defines the person by their behaviour and I don't think that's a good way to look at self injury. Same goes for emo/scene/goth, etc.
'Cutter' particularly just adds to the stigma that everyone who self harms cuts. I went to a counsellor once who, when I mentioned that I self harmed, immediately asked if I was still cutting. The problem was that I'd been free from cutting for a while at that point but I was still burning, yet she kept focussing on the cutting. It's frustrating.