My friends and family always say I don't have any reason to be cutting myself. A doctor once said to me, “What’s your medication for?" "Depression," I said. "You’re so young. What is there to be depressed about?" Nothing that traumatic ever happened to me. I mean I didn't have a dad and my mom’s bf was bi polar but I was never abused. I just hate myself so much. But is that even reason enough to cut? I feel so bad for doing it, like I take away the seriousness from cutting because I do it. I mean I am in pain but not terribly or anything.

	MoonlightSonatra - July 19, 2017 you have every reason to feel depressed. If ANYONE thinks you don`t they either don`t understand or care. Sorry if this is not uplifting but its true. If you need anything I can help
	Subject3 - June 20, 2014 I think what most people think self-harm as only being cutting or burning, when really, it's anything with a negative effect on yourself, So; burning,cutting,scratching,pinching,hitting,hair pulling ect. and even excluding yourself from people can be classed as SH/SI. They don't have to be physical, they can be mentally, emotionally and physcologically. Most people I think don't realise that it can be not just physical. I have suffered from SI/SH for at 2-3 years now.. Helpful and informative article though <3 (Sorry for any typos, I spilt cola on my keyboard and it sticks :c)
	MylittleBecBoo - March 4, 2014 I know this is really old but I feel the same like I know I have many great things in life but I just can't put myself in a pure happiness area. I'm constantly depressed and can never get above a 4 on a scale from 10. I don't have a clue what brought my depression on or why I am depressed and it seems everyone I've seen is blaming it on the fact it's genetic... sometimes I question it mainly because I don't like to blame my mother like my other siblings do :/ I had been cutting for about 3 years and I sort of still so but I'm trying to reduce it. I stopped for a month or so but I started biting my wrist because I ached for the feeling, does that make me weird or crazy? I sometimes think I'm not good enough to Self-harm eventhough that sounds absolutely crazy and stupid... I know it's not really a right but others actually have a reason, mines just uhm nothing besides makes me feel a bit of release hmm
	Jaxxine - May 31, 2012 "Why are you depressed?" That's like saying, "Why do you breathe." You aren't alone It's not like anyone chooses to be sad, it's just a way of dealing with life. You don't have to be abused to be depressed of self harm. It's a way of coping with everyday life, too. You ARE NOT bad for cutting. I'm pretty sure people are just worried about you I know it can seem hard at times, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel <3 IK this post is old, but if you are reading this... Living proof is telling you there's hope.
	Hisshadow123 - December 23, 2009 Many people who Si dont have a reason for dong it. no one needs a reason persay... Many people who do it dont even know why they do it... trust me i know where you are coming from
	Riku3323 - September 30, 2009 I hate it when people say "your so young. what is there to be depressed about" I hate that. its makes me feel worse. so I know how you feel, and yea, I think hating yourself is a reason to want to cut.
	Shadowedcorner - March 11, 2008 I know what that's like. You aren't alone. I wasn't abused either and they diagnosed me with mood disorder, whatever that is. Self-harm isn't the same for everyone. The reasons can be different, like self-hatred, depression, because you need a way to cope. Its hard being the person you are sometimes. You just have to accept it and move on with life. You aren't taking the seriousness away of self-harm.

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	Randomer - November 30, 2009 Self-injury is simply a broader name - it includes harming yourself by means of alcohol and drug abuse or by eating disroders, for example. Self-harm is a form of self-injury, but specifically refers to causing external pain such as by cutting.
	shun it all - September 22, 2009 im shun it all ummm ive been here for a whilwe and you have a point but dont get mad at me the fact of the matter is there both a form of self injury and are both cutting or bouning ext.

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	Opheliac13 - May 9, 2012 You are most definitely not alone. I cut for both reasons. If my depression or anxiety are getting to me, I cut to make them go away for a while, even though I know they'll come back worse. But if I'm numb and can't feel anything then I cut to feel something.
	shun it all - September 22, 2009 this sounds weird but i do it to get rid of ther pain i hide from everybody and to bring a relice sometimse fergetting pain and making me fell a kind if like FAKE hope i feel hop but i myself know that it will only last and i will fell miserabole later once thay heel or the pain just fade it will all start again
	cobinrapner - January 28, 2008 that was one of the big reasons I cut was to just feel SOMETHING. so you're not the only one.
	invisiblechick - November 25, 2007 Yes. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by feelings I can't even describe, so I cut. Other times, I feel nothing, like a zombie drifting down this endless void, so I cut and it remides me that I can still feel something. Even if that doesn't work, at least there's the Endorphine increase involved in cutting...

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I understand that it scares them, but why don't they TRY to understand? Why do they yell when they see new cuts, shooting a dirty look and growling "I thought you stopped that?" It almost makes me want to SI more, if that makes sense.

	iolite - January 19, 2011 My dad, who is a doctor, closed up a cut that needed stitches. At the time he was my hero. I also later realized that he knew i was self-abusive, (it was quite obvious). so when i asked why he didnt stop me if he knew, he told me "Its useless to stop people like you". I dont know what to make of that.
	shun it all - November 10, 2009 but like my mom freaks out on me but she did it when she was my age and nun of this is here fault my mom dosent need to fraek out about what im dowing
	Riku3323 - September 30, 2009 its because their scared, and they don't know how to help you, and a part of them feels like they failed you. but thats excuse, they should see that you're already in a enough pain, and they should help you to be happier, becuase when they yell it probably only makes you want to do it again. at least thats the way I feel.
	X-Immortal-Rose-X - September 6, 2008 My Mum Wanted To Chuck Me Out &+ I Only Really Understood When I Sh Again &+ She Said She Was Going To Do It. It Really Made Me Stop &+ Think.
	givenup - March 14, 2008 it makes them feel like there not doing a good job as beinga parnet, but with mine they act mean sometimes, they yell at me and stuff-and then they dont understand why i cut, personally i think they have mixed emotions just like we do when we first cut like "should i do this?" "well i'm pretty upset" then are emotions kinda smooth out all into one, " i have to cut to feel better" parnets on the other hand really just dont have one feeling about it.
	delusorydesigns - October 29, 2007 I can completely identify with that--it is really discouraging and frustrating. Here is how I've come to understand it: parents tend to respond this way because they are disappointed in themselves for not being able to make you happy enough to stop self-harming; they feel it is their fault, and that it is their responsibility to keep you from doing this to yourself. They feel that they have failed you, but they are also in denial of that feeling. For this reason, they turn this anger with themselves against us when we slip up and hurt ourselves, because they feel helpless and it hurts them to see us unhappy. Sometimes, when people feel confused and don't know where to direct their anger, they end up taking it out on the very people they care about most. The reasoning behind their reactions doesn't make them any less hurtful, and it doesn't necessarily help us not feel like hurting ourselves all over again when they react like this. I know that, I totally understand it. But it takes change from both parties to stop the cycle--we have to do our best to work on breaking the habit--but they also have to learn what does and does not help us do this. Parents, unfourtunately, seem to struggle a lot with this. Just hang in there, and if possible, try to communicate to them that their negative reactions only make things worse. It will take time for them to change their ways, but they want what is best for you, so they will work on it if you let them know. Best of luck, Elizabeth

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	mzugguitarlover - June 27, 2011 I always would dig my nails into my skin at a very young age. I made myself bleed when I was 5 by cutting my finger with a pair of scissors. Unlike this article said, I was already seeing a counselor, being taught different mechanisms. I was taught so many other things to do. And yet here I am, 17, and I cut all the time. What happened that I didn't make it like others did?
	JustGrey - May 12, 2011 When I was about seven, I remember trying to break my arm, staying up half the night. I also remember making up a game with a friend- the object was to see who could make themselves bleed first. I won. She didn't try. I think I was six at the time. Like mistressqueenie said, I really never thought of it as SI before I actually began to cut. Now, looking back, it scares me to think that I did everything I did without even realizing what exactly I was doing.
	mistressqueenie - May 1, 2011 I remember when I was 7 i used to try give myself a black eye by punching my self. I didn't think it was SI but after reading this, maybe I was SI. This totally makes sense.
	NonExistant~ - October 31, 2010 I remember as a kid, I would open up scabs from scratching mosquito bites just to watch them bleed... I never thought of it as SI until I read this article.
	sillysam061 - April 18, 2010 I used to drag myself on my knees up the garden, pull my hair, scratch myself with objects at the age of 8 and now at 18 i SI
	Riku3323 - September 30, 2009 I started cutting when I turned 12. I'm 14. I still struggle with it. I wish I had never touched that razor. but 5 is a very young age, some are born with depression. it can be genetic. my depression is genetic. I hate my genetics
	grlnxtstor - November 28, 2007 I work with toddlers and i think its sad when they self injure, we have children who slap themselves, bite themselves and dig their nails into their skin. I remember digging my nails into my skin as a young child, but never really thought anything of it, i did it as automatically as most children crying. My mom used to say it was attention getting, and now i cut and thats definatly not for attention. I think a lot of us probably did some type of disructive behavior as a child, my childhood best friend used to pick at her scabs and peel at her dry skin, she also began cutting very young, at age 11.

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	Riku3323 - February 22, 2011 1 in 10 people self harm so its possible to have all close friend that have or thought about SHing.
	shun it all - January 19, 2010 the same kinnda thing happend to me i was hanging around a lot of people how are outcasted and we startid to go close i became relly good friends with a girl named sam and nobody know i was cutting yet... and i found out she cut she told me and at that i felt like i could talk to her cause we have both been through a lot adn some silliler stuff we are still realy good friends but the on thing that we never talk about is cutting ever for us its a tabbo subbject
	Mistakenly Beautiful - January 20, 2008 I think its that people find eachother. Notice how people who love a type of music, tend to have friends that love that same type of music. Preps make friends with preps. Goths with goths and everything else. I think people find people that are similar to them. So for a cutter, we tend to reach out to those people who have the same emotions as us and connection. Like when you feel some ones vibe and you can tell if you like the person or not. Ive made lots of friends and several have or do cut.
	grlnxtstor - November 28, 2007 I definatly think there is a connection of some sort, i am the same way, all of my friends cut. I don't understand how we did not even meet until high school, had very differnet experiences growing up, and all seemed "ok" on the outside, all turned to cutting. We all did it, and none of us knew of anyone else until at least a year of doing it. Its odd that we would all turn to hurting our bodies for help and then meet and be good friends. We used to joke that with all our broken skin and bones we made one complete person so we all had to be friends to be someone. its odd and morbid i know, but its kinda true.
	ramoneschick5 - November 3, 2007 i think theyre is. nearly all of my friends cut. or have an ED. its odd. we were friends before we even knew anything about eachotehr that has to do with self harm. i belive that there is a conenction. <33

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	iiLL3GAL - August 10, 2009 I think it should have it's own name as a disorder because so many people suffer from it and want to figure out what they're going through. Someone saying their bipolar, or borderline, or have depression or anxiety still makes a person wonder 'alright, so what about my SI?' If you look at eating disorders, they all have their very own name, and very specific. They're not just depressed, or other things, they have their own name. I'm sorry if this didn't make any sense. I just feel strongly on this subject and I don't really know how to explain it.
	sammie - February 16, 2008 IDk where your from but my psychologist call it an emotional/behavioural disorder, well I cnt remember what it is one of them said but they called it a disorder....I'm from the UK could be different else where but invisiblechick is right there has been some controversy over it.
	invisiblechick - November 25, 2007 There's been some controversy over that for the people responsible for editing the next version of the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) which is basically the bible of any Psychiatrist of psychologist. I don't think if will be considered as a disorder on it's own because of its high co-morbidity rates with other disorders.

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