Self mutilation is very difficult to understand from the prospective of people who have never experienced the behavior themselves. For family members or friends of someone who self mutilates, it is terrifying, confusing, and frustrating.

There are various definitions of self mutilation, and even plenty of names for this type of behavior. The self mutilation referred to in this article involves the direct and deliberate destruction or alteration of the body. This type of self mutilation is sometimes referred to as self harm, or self injury. Examples of self harming behaviors include cutting, burning, needle sticking, and severe scratching. The person who is doing this usually does not want to commit suicide. I for one, who used to be a cutter, did want to, because I was afraid of the consequences I would have after I died.

Research has shown that individuals who engage in self harm are usuallynottrying to kill themselves when they engage in the behavior, although some may report that they have mixed feelings about the intent of the acts. This is not to say that people who engage in self mutilation are not suicidal; many people who self mutilate also have suicidal thoughts or even make suicide attempts. In addition, in cases of very severe self mutilation, people have died from their injuries. But, self mutilation usually serves a different purpose than attempt at killing one's self.

Many believe that people engage in self mutilation to get attention. This is a myth. Most people who self harm do it in private and make sure that the location of the injury is one that cannot be seen. They are also often ashamed of the behavior and keep it a secret. This sort of secrecy and shame about the behavior suggests that it is certainly not meant to manipulate others or to garner attention. Of course, there are some people who report that they self mutilate for attention, but they are in a very small minority.

Research has shown that most people self mutilate in order to help regulate internal experiences such as emotions, thoughts, memories, and physical sensations. People who self mutilate report that they do this behavior to escape from emotional pain, release anger, slow racing thoughts, end episodes of dissociation, or have a sense of control. In fact, for many people who self harm, the behavior probably serves many different purposes depending on what experience they are having at the time.

Unfortunately, self mutilation is not an uncommon behavior. For example, one study found that about 40% of college students have engaged in self mutilation at least once, and about 10% have engaged in self mutilation 10 or more times. There is evidence that men and women engage in self mutilation at equal rates.

People who have experienced maltreatment during their childhood (sexual abuse or neglect, for example) or who were separated from a caregiver in childhood are at greater risk for self mutilation than the general population. Also, there is evidence the people who experience dissociation are at greater risk for self mutilation.

Most people that self mutilate must go through extensive pshyciatric treatment before being able to stop their actions. Self mutilation is often diagnosed as deprseeion, or manic depression.

To me, people self mutilate because they have no other way to let out their emotions. They are afraid to tell someone of their feelings and hurt emotions, and take it out on themselves....by hurting themselves.

People may cut themselves/self mutilate for these reasons: (Disclaimer: I did not write this; I got it from / )

1. Many different people that suffer from different forms of depression, cut after reaching a peak in sorrow. Which is very reasonable. Seeing them bleed reminds them that they are still able to feel something, and that life isn’t over yet.

2. Cry for help: Some people cut themselves to show others they need help in life, they need to find something or someone that can give them a reason for why they should be here. They don’t tell to increase the effectiveness of anyone wanting to help them if they somehow find out.

3. For attention: Many teens or other people cut themselves in hope for attention. In hope that someone will care that they do it. These people are usually the ones that go off and tell everyone that they do it, just so they’ll feel bad for them.

4. It puts them in control:  Some people cut in order to see that they are in control of something. Seeing the blood and feeling the pain shows them they can control at least one thing, which is good positive reinforcement.

5. Many different people think that carving their lovers name into them is a good way of showing them that you love them, and that you’ll go through any amount of pain for them. This isn’t always the best idea. Yes some people do think it’s very passionate and caring, but if they truly love you, they won’t want you to do that to yourself.

6.  To relieve stress: When someone cuts themselves, pain relieving chemicals called Endorphins are released to relieve stress or emotional pain.

7. they like how it looks: Alright, I honestly hate when people do this. They only cut themselves to see how it looks, or the cool patterns they can make. This is possibly one of the worst decisions you can make. If you want to do that, just draw something instead.

8. They feel like they deserve it:  Many people are very self-loathing these days and want to do whatever they can to hurt themselves after making bad decisions. Cutting usually comes into play there.

9. They like the pain: Some people are just truly messed up and like being hurt, so they do things like cutting in order to feel pain. But the truth is, when people cut themselves for reasons that actually make sense, they are too worked up to feel any pain at all.

10. DID: Many people suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder, meaning they have somewhat of multiple personalities. And the only way they could get through the different problems and different pain, was cutting or self-harming to relieve it all.

Cutting yourself to fit in and be emo is NOT cool. It is disgusting and just...it makes me sick. Cutting yourself is a serious disorder, and when stupid teenagers mock it, it is not cool. It is stupid. so, if you are an 'emo wannabe' stop it. Emo is a style and type of music, not a group of lonely kids who cut themselves. So stop.

I hope that from reading this article, you have learned what self mutilation is, and how to accept it and not mock it. It is an extremely serious disorder that many people have. Hopefully, you'll learn to reach out to these troubled individuals and teach them how to truly cope with their mismatched feelings.