Is attention seeking always a bad thing ?

[manic_felinemistress]

When I first started cutting I tried my best to hide it. I started getting sloppy as I got worse and eventually got found out. I've never used it as a way to get attention. I know a friend of a friend who has, and when my friends first found out... they asumed it was for the same reason. So they got all hissy at me. When I finally explained (vaguely) some of the reasons they backed off. Personally, I don't think it's right to harm yourself for that reason. I have a friend who went full on "emo" and keeps refering to himself that way. He cuts himself only because he wants to fit into that group. To me they're classifed into the same group. I kinda think the emo is dumb. I'm not saying the person!! 'cause I have friends who were and are emo. My bestfriend was and stopped shortly after meeting him. Just the whole get up.

[nikki2291]

When I first started cutting (at about 13) I wanted people to find out. But not really for attention, it was more because I wanted someone to know and to care...I think that makes sense .

~Nikki~

[BunnythesAINT]

I under stand that ^^ I did the same thing too.

[rubberduckydee]

i dont think its always an attention thing... it can sometimes be but thats quite a generalisation.

those who are attention seeking get a very unfair time in my opinion. because to SI in the first place, you must have low self esteem, and if you have low self esteem you dont tend to acknowledge your needs. someone with low self esteem probably feels guilty and ashamed for being needy because they think they'r not worthy.

so since attention is a basic human need, a person with low self esteem will feel deep shame for seeking attention, and society looking down upon attention seeking just reinforces that shame.

if sum1 harms themselves for attention, then clearly they are struggling and they are not ok, and they need and deserve that attention, not judgement.

[GrimmFaerieTale]

I think the words 'attention-seeking' has negative conotations for most people and because it's flung about as an insult a lot of the time, we tend to shy away from it and become defensive/upset if called an 'attention-seeker'. But I don't think it needs to be a bad thing and I don't necessarily think it needs to be an insult, obviously depending on the context it's said in. Like The One Who said, there's 'good' attention seeking and 'bad' attention seeking, and it depends on how you see yourself as to whether your SI is attention seeking in the first place, and if it is then whether it's 'good' or 'bad'.
For me most of my SI, if I'm brutally honest, was attention seeking, but I'm now beginning to allow myself to open up to the idea that it doesn't need to be a 'bad' thing. Yes, on rare occasions, it was for the wrong reasons, but on the vast majority it was a cry for help and I was seeking the attentions of someone who could help me and help the pain I was feeling.