Why do we (some of us) tend towards self-destruction (smoking, eating, drinking, running with scissors, etc.)?
599562
If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!!!!
374629
It is not understood really how many people actually do this but its thousands and thousands. Don't worry your not daft neither stupid. Dont listen to people that say its for attention!\n\nYoung people who self-harm have often had very difficult or painful experiences or relationships. These may include:\n\nBullying or discrimination. \nLosing someone close to them such as a parent, brother, sister or friend.\nLack of love and affection or neglect by parents or carers. \nPhysical or sexual abuse. \nA serious illness that affects the way they feel about themselves. \nOther young people may start to self-harm as a way of dealing with the problems and pressures of everyday life. Pressure can come from family, school and peer groups to conform or to perform well (for example in getting good exam results). Young people can be made to feel angry, frustrated or bad about themselves if they cannot live up to other people's expectations.\n\nYoung people who self-harm may have low self-esteem. For some this is linked to poor body image, eating disorders, or drug misuse. Understanding why young people self-harm involves knowing as much as possible about their lives and lifestyles.\n\nPeer pressures may occasionally be the most important reason for self-harm.Young people may find themselves among friends or other groups who self-harm and may be encouraged or pressurised to do the same. \n\n\nSelf-harm as a way of coping\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n \nExtreme feelings of fear, anger, guilt, shame, helplessness, self-hatred, unhappiness, depression or despair can build up over time. When these feelings become unbearable, self-harm can be a way of dealing with them.\n\nReasons young people have given for their self-harm include:\n\nWhen the level of emotional pressure becomes too high it acts as a safety valve - a way of relieving the tension. \nCutting makes the blood take away the bad feelings. \nPain makes them feel more alive when they feel numb or dead inside. \nPunishing themselves relieves feelings of shame or guilt. \nWhen it's too difficult to talk to anyone, it's a form of communication about their unhappiness - a way of saying they need help. \nSelf-harm is something they can control when other parts of their life may seem out of control. \n\nFeel free to ask me questions.
899795
The real question is why would you want to?  Are you into tearing yourself apart?
146092
Human being's attitude is such that we tend to do those things which we ought not to do. For example, if u tell a child not to touch fire, they'll go and touch it to see what happens(if it is for the first time). The same is the case with these alcohol and cigarette. Some people just want to give a try, but, they get addicted to it.
495507
Most ppl cut to redirect their attention to a pain that is perceived as less than what is really troubling them.  #1 reason is that they have been abused (usually sexually).  Without proper therapy things will worsen!!
436149
People make mistakes and they cannot forgive themselves. They try to blameselfs more to please other people. They end up hating themselves. They think everything is their own fault.
341592
It's called self-control.
883977
Yes because you can cause damage to your brain!!\n& its never good to not be in control of yourself\nhave a few drinks if you must but stop when you are  just merry happy tiddly or what ever you call it \nnever wipe yourself out \nits more fun when you know whats going on around you
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 ....
854482
I'm not a cutter but I think the best thing for you, is to maybe try talking to someone about this. You say you do that to feel normal, but just because a lot of people do that, doesn't mean it's normal. If you don't want to talk to anyone about that, try just stopping cold turkey. Throw away all your razors, don't resort to any other means of self harm. Find a hobby and be constructive!
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
256982
someone who takes it upon themselves to eliminate social vices, like smoking, drinking, gambling, etc
800775
if u will give a real deep analysis on all the symptoms and situations  that you mentioned, the bottomline of all these,  is self-love,  the use of defense mechanisms to preserve the ego.  Projection, Rationalization, Intellectualization...yes my friend, all exhibited because of actual or imagined fear of having their ego smashed into pieces.
669014
Well there is long forgotten phrase called SELF RESTRAINT.  \n\nPeople don't believe in it much anymore. \nBut it is the opposite of a VICE. Hint Hint.
929940
It's easy to start, hard to stop, and some people think its cool so they do it to try and impress them to be cool too. So, its generally peer pressure that starts it and then that person finds out the benefits and ignores the long term damages, and keeps doing alcohol or drugs or whichever, until they are so addicted its almost impossible to stop before they die. Thats why when they go through a serious condition (heart attack) and are hospitilized, then told they have to stop its much more likely that they will rather than stopping on their own.
147781
some people feel the need to make thier problems go away by not facing them. The only problem is they dont relize once the drugs have wore off the problem is still there but worse, so they do more drugs. And some people just like the energy some drugs can give them and the feeling of having control of there life (even though they obviously dont have control...the drugs do. And the amazing feeling you can get after smoking a big fat one.
1014939
they really believe accidental....that being said, in most cases, when people have sank to that depth into drugs, they really aren't conscious of what they are doing, nor do they really care, hence, profound self destructiveness, just a bit more "passive" form of suicide.  Janis, though putting on an "party" facade before she died had been acting very inappropriately/bazaar & all that knew her could see it & knew she was really deeply despondent.♥