by WriterGirl

Created on: August 12, 2008

Self-mutilation isn't an easy thing to explain. Getting inside the mind of someone who chooses to harm themselves isn't easy either. The bottom line is cutting yourself can be done for many reasons and none of them are good.

Reason One: The person just wants attention.

Many people feel that they're not getting the attention they deserve or need. They think that if they act out it will get them the attention. Like in any other attention seeking behavior the person doesn't care if they attention they get is good or bad.

Reason Two: They want to make their internal pain external.

This is a reason that I'm very familiar with It may sound odd but sometimes when someone is depressed they will harm themselves so they can focus on the pain from the injury instead what's going on with them emotionally. Typically these cuts will be done to a part of the body that's easily hidden..

The problem is that sometimes it works. For a short period you're focusing on the injury but then the pain subsides and you're back where you started or worse, you're now feeling guilty and ashamed about what you've done. It's a very bad cycle to be in.

Reason Three: Control

So many things are happening and you feel like you've lost control over your life. I've also heard this is the reason many develop eating disorders. You might not be able to control everything around you but you can control your body and what you do to it.

The cause of all these things is depression. If not help a person can move onto injuring themselves with deeper cuts which could cause massive bleeding, cutting in more then one area at a time, or burning themselves. Safety isn't thought of so it raises the chance of getting infections.

If someone you know is practicing self-harm then you should try to help them but you need to be careful about how you approach them about it. Don't make them feel attacked or ashamed just talk to them about how you want to help them. Make sure they know you're not judging them and you're there to give them they support they need.

If you are hurting yourself then please get some help. You may feel it's making things better but it really doesn't. As I said, you're opening yourself up to much worse things such as a very nasty infection. Don't feel guilty or alone just get the support you need. With some help you'll be able to see this isn't what you need to be doing and then you can work on fixing any of your other problems.

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