by Morticia Alexander

Created on: July 18, 2009

Cutting, or any form of self-injury, has many motivations and reasons behind it, those differing from person to person. Some of the more common motivations are feelings of numbness, alleviating physical and mental pain, and wanting to have control over one's body. Although many of those reasons do not seem rational in the least, most have medical justification, and most tend to work for people in distress, even at the expense of bodily harm.

Feeling numb or nonexistent, as some would describe it, is one of the most common motivations for cutting. When feeling physically or emotionally numb, it is often hard to even imagine that you are truly alive, as opposed to just a walking form of skin. Cutting serves oneself by allowing them to feel something, and it provides tangible proof that he or she is, in fact, alive. Moreover, sometimes feeling pain, a usually undesirable sensation, is better than feeling nothing at all.

Medically speaking, cutting is a perfectly legitimate way to alleviate physical or mental pain. That is not to say that is a healthy or an effective way, but it is supported by science. When the human body sustains an injury, endorphins are released to aid the body in coping with said injury. Endorphins are essentially natural opiates that act as natural pain-relievers, and increase one's sense of well-being. Cutting releases these endorphins into the bloodstream, thereby working to alleviate other physical or mental pain. Although it may not seem rational to most people, cutting is a rational coping method because of its effects on the body.

Another factor that may act as a motivation for cutting is desiring control. When one endures a certain amount of physical and/or emotional pain from others, it may often become extremely overwhelming. In some situations, cutting is a person's way of saying I'm the only one who can hurt me. In a world full of things beyond one's own control, it is not uncommon for people to seek out something that he or she can control. Along the same lines, in some cases, cutting is a person's way of pushing other away, or avoiding social contact with others. That falls into the concept of having control. With this, a person can control their contact with others, ultimately warding them off because of cutting. And back to the talk of endorphins, the release of endorphins allow humans to feel some sense of power and control over him or herself. Although the sense of control is only in a person's mind, it is still a powerful sensation to him or her.

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