Why to people think that everyone who cuts themselves on purpose must be suicidal?
347748
Think about it, you're angry you hit a wall.  Well some people can feel so miserable (and for a good secret reason too) that they feel the need to do so, thus letting all the pain break free.\n\nIt's like a small pain.  Eat candy and you're suddenly better.  Cutting is a destraction of one's life that can be controlled. Not suicide!\n\n\n-Alexis
798216
in a way it is very ironic but I think that many people feel the same way. I know that I myself believe in the death penalty for extreme crimes but otherwise not at all. See the problem that I see with encouraging to kill themselves is that often times the people guilty of such crimes don't feel guilt for their crimes, so why would they kill themselves. I don't know guess i am rambling. Good Luck in deciding
518719
i've answered a similar question to this before and my answer is still the same...if we took the time to listen to people in this day and age instead of being obsessed with our own lives and happenings then maybe there wouldnt be the need to post as many suicide questions or as many suicidal people out there. The human race as a whole is just becoming selfish.
894494
I think it disturbs people to see someone harm themselves (cutting).  It is a sign of mental illness.  Even then though, people should not be mean about it.\n\nAs far as the gay, lesbian and bi... that is very different.  I agree with you this is a lifestyle choice and not a mental illness or a sign of something wrong.
1056271
That needs to be asked because sometimes people kill themselves by accident or it's very possible it may not have been suicide but murder and it was covered up. All people do not kill themselves because they are depressed however a large percentage are depressed.
395814
It's alot more than just cutting yourself. Many people do it because you need to feel, and they become emotionally numb. Self Injury, SI, is common believe it or not, many people do not advertise the scars or use medicine to help heal the wound to cover it up. All of my scars can easily be covered by shorts and a tee shirt. The worst thing you can do is be negative to the person. It sometimes is the only thing that can make you feel alive! I do not agree it is about the pain, most of the time you do not feel pain, it is more about the blood. People who SI usually do it more than once, they dont die the first time. A common misconception is that is is a call out similar to suicide. SI does not mean the person is suicidal! SI is different for many people, men and women both SI. If you are interested in more information I have included a website below that should help. The website was written by SI's for SI's and their families and friends. I'll put this question on my watch list if you have anymore questions please ask.
1163447
There are a lot of reasons people cut themselves.  If it's a close friend you're talking about, maybe you could ask her why she does it.\n\nFor some people, cutting is a way to get attention.  People tend to look down on people who do this, but really cutting for attention is an act of despiration, and definitely still means there's something wrong.  I've read about kids who cut for reasons like their sibling is really sick and they feel like everyone is paying attention to their sibling and ignoring them.  Or it might be because they're in a really bad situation at home or at school and don't know how else to ask for help.  Or it may just be that they have the kind of personally that likes attention.\n\nAnother reason some people cut is because they think it's cool. This isn't the case for most cutters, but some people, especially young teens, start cutting because their friends do it or because they think it will make them seem more grown up.\n\nThe last major reason people cut, and the hardest to understand, is to deal with emotional pain or stress that they can't deal with other ways.  People who do this will usually try to hide their cuts and keep it secret, so people tend to associate cutting with the first two reasons more than this one, simply because they don't know about this last reason.  For some people it basically serves as punishment for something they feel guilty about.  For some it makes them feel alive when they feel emotionally numb.  For others, it helps them deal with other things.  I'm not entirely sure why this last one works, but I think it is basically because the physical pain takes your mind off the emotional pain, and physical pain is easier to deal with.  I'm not sure that really explains it, but it's the best I can do right now.  If you want to know more about it you're welcome to email me by the Answers contact link and I can try to explain it a bit better.
352420
Anyone that cuts themself has a deep rooted problem that needs attention.  It is best you help them seek professional help, instead of trying to help them yourself.  Getting them professional help is helping them in a way that it's showing (or should show) them you care about their well being.   Get them to a professional, the problem is too deep for just a common person to help.
724735
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/self-injury/DS00775\nSelf-injury/cutting\nIntroduction\n\nFor people who can't fathom deliberately hurting themselves, self-injury may seem shocking and frightening. But for people who do injure themselves by cutting or other means, self-injury offers a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension. Unfortunately, that's usually quickly followed by guilt and shame and the return of other painful emotions. And with self-injury comes the very real possibility of inflicting serious and even fatal injuries.\n\nSelf-injury isn't a specific disease or condition. Rather, it's a type of abnormal behavior. It may accompany a variety of mental disorders, such as depression and borderline personality disorder. Because self-injury is often done on impulse, it's sometimes considered an impulse-control behavior problem. Self-injury is also known as self-harm, self-injurious behavior and self-mutilation.\n\nAlthough it's hard to estimate how many people engage in self-injury because some never seek treatment, it's thought that about 3 percent to 5 percent of Americans have deliberately hurt themselves at some point in their lives. Self-injury may be more common — and on the rise — in adolescents.\nSigns and symptoms\n\nWhat self-injury is and isn't\nSelf-injury is behavior in which people deliberately harm their own bodies in some way to cope with overwhelming emotions. Self-injury frequently is an impulsive act. You may become upset and spontaneously seek a way to hurt yourself, recklessly doing damage to your body. Other times, self-injury may be inflicted in a controlled, methodical manner. You may even plan it in advance, taking steps to avoid detection and to prevent infections.\n\nSelf-injury isn't the same as injury that arises from culturally sanctioned practices in some parts of the world, including scarring, piercing and tattooing, which historically have been considered forms of self-mutilation. Self-injury is distinguished from such practices by the emotional intent behind it — it's an unhealthy coping method for overwhelming feelings.\n\nSelf-injury also isn't the same as a suicide attempt. For instance, someone may try to harm himself or herself by taking an overdose of medication, but stop short of taking a lethal dose. In self-injury, the intent isn't to die, but to inflict bodily harm. However, self-injury can accidentally result in suicide.\n\nTypes of self-injury\nSelf-injury is most commonly associated with cutting, which involves making cuts or scratches on your body. Cutting can be done with any sharp object, including knives, needles, razor blades or even fingernails.\n\nMost frequently, the arms, legs and front of the torso are the targets of self-injury because these areas can be easily reached and easily hidden under clothing. But any area of the body may be subjected to self-injury.\n\nSome people don't feel pain while they're hurting themselves, even when creating deep cuts. Others do find self-injury painful but welcome the pain as a punishment or as a distraction from emotional turmoil.\n\nThere are many types of self-injury besides cutting, and someone may engage in one or more of them. Other types of self-injury include:\n\n    * Burning\n    * Poisoning or overdosing\n    * Scratching\n    * Carving words or symbols on the skin\n    * Breaking bones\n    * Hitting or punching\n    * Piercing the skin with sharp objects\n    * Head banging\n    * Pulling out hair\n    * Interfering with wound healing\n    * Pinching\n    * Biting\n\nSome experts consider overexercising a form of self-injury, as well as stopping medication in an attempt to cause harm to yourself.\n\nSigns of self-injury\nPeople who injure themselves often try to keep their behavior secret. It may be difficult to spot signs of self-injury.\n\nSigns of self-injury may include:\n\n    * Scars, such as from burns or cuts\n    * Cuts, scratches or other
230437
People cut themselves because the pain from the cut does not even compare to the pain they feel on the inside.  The physical pain they inflict on themselves helps relieve the emotional pain they live with every day.\n\nIt is unhealthy, but anyone who hurts that bad is probably not healthy anyway.
1177028
As a self-harmer myself, not to mention someone who spent a lot of time counselling college students who self-harmed and running a self-harm community online – one of the first of it's kind, one that took a healthy attitude towards self-harm (rather than encouraging people to quit or glorifying self-harm) – no, I would not think badly of someone who self-harms. \n\nSelf-harm is too misunderstood still; it's the result of someone who for some reason lacked in social upbringing in the formative years and so lacks 'normal' coping methods. All is fine for most up until those teens' years where everything becomes so important and for some it is too much, things like break-ups and fights with parents can trigger off self-harm. It still saddens me that so many people try to stop, or are forced to stop through guilt through their loved ones, self-harm does not stop, you cannot reverse what made you who you are…you can only find out why you are who you are, discover your triggers, avoid those triggers and try to learn new coping methods. \nStopping self-harm itself is very harmful, it makes me sick that people are so closed minded to exactly what this problem is, it is not just attention seeking it is something that effects a person their whole life and not something they can safely just stop cold-turkey.
1114909
;when people commit suicide its like their brains quit working and they aren't really thinking thru things if anything if they were thinking and they believed in God then they would not do it because if God wanted them he would take them but they are doing it themselves.  Suicide might not hurt the person that is doing it but it will destroy a family of that victim
123856
Many people who self harm are misunderstood. Obviously your friend needs help and perhaps that is his/her only way of letting people know about it. If you can, convince your friend to take up counselling or let someone who can do something about it know.YOu also hang in there. It must be hard to be close to someone who is hurting.
209038
If someone is suicidal or/and depressed LISTEN TO THEM. Do not tell them it is all in there minds. Don't say that there lives are so much better than everyone elses.\nDo not ignore them. listen and take them seriously.\n\nYou humans have a lot to learn...
578109
oh, please don't consider this at all...it is an absolutely horrible thing to do. If you are considering suicide, there are hot lines to call and websites you can go to to get help. It may not seem like it, but there would be people who would miss you terribly. I read somewhere that people who try to commit suicide and don't succeed are glad they survived. It would be a terrible tragedy.
1070237
It's obviously a very personal thing, so there are innumerable reasons why a person does this.  I suppose the most common reasons would be: mental illness, self-euthanasia, shame or guilt, loneliness, unhappiness, innability to cope with the problems in their life ....
1080622
They do it partially for attention, but not always and not all of them. For the most part, they do it to feel something again. Part of depression - the clinical disorder - is the lack of feeling, motivation and emotion. They also tend to blame themselves for the way they are, and concentrate only on the negative things that are happening to them. \n\nCutting gives them two things - it's a form of punishing themselves, and it's a way to know that they are still alive (because when they feel nothing, and nothing makes them happy or excited anymore, they wonder: am i still here? am i still alive?) seeing themselves bleed and feeling the pain gives them something to feel when they cannot otherwise. \n\nIt becomes addicting. They see the scars later and they may regret it, but they can't stop, because they're now dependent on the pain and the sight of the blood to help them feel.\n\nPeople who cut themselves 95% of the time are not suicidal and do not want to die. They want to live and to feel, but their brain is not letting them.