I was sitting in my Anatomy class the other day and looking over I noticed that this quiet girl on the other side of the room had these huge cuts all over her arm, obviously of her own doing. By the end of the class, everyone had noticed not only this, but the fact that on her other arm she had a bandage which most likely covered an even greater cut. The next day, the bandage came off, and she made sure everyone saw what lay underneath as she wore a long sleeved shirt rolled up - she had scraped off the skin entirely leaving an utterly disgusting wound. Talking with the girl next to me about this, she commented how weird it was that this girl was showing it off. I responded by saying something along the lines of that the fact she cut herself was the weird part, to which she replied that she used to cut herself too, but covered it up.
Anyway, before I ramble on any more, what is the rationale behind someone cutting themself? The girl sittin next to me is a good lookin girl, perfectly normal, so its not only the unattractive ones, such as the girl across the room. She also commented that many of her friends do it. Is this something that is really that common, and if so, is it just girls? I dont understand how this could relieve someones depression…
“That which does not kill me only makes me stronger.”
or
“I just want to feel something, anything, other than this.”
or
“Oh no. I am really sad. Please pay attention to me.”
It starts off as attention whoring, but can eventually develop into a full-fledged mental disorder.
The most common excuse I have heard for cutting is to divert psychic or mental torment into a physical one, thus giving it substance and making it easier to deal with. The flow of blood flooding down the arms becomes an orgasmic release, washing away thoughts and emotions too painful to bear.
When I get really angry, I find that pounding on something, or, even better, smashing something, makes me feel better. I can’t say why; there’s certainly nothing “rational” about it, as is often the case with emotional responses.
I’m guessing that cutting has a similar calming effect. Kind of like dealing with frustration by banging one’s head on the wall, but a little more drastic. The pain helps to distract one from whatever is causing so much frustration/anger/sadness/etc, and the stark reality of physical pain helps to put more abstract problems in perspective. Thus masochism can be strangely therapeutic.
it means “no really, I do have problems… I was actually serious and not saying it just for fun” and “no, telling me my problems aren’t real didn’t help, neither did telling me that everyone else has problems too” and “its great everyone is too busy to nodice there is something seriously wrong in my life… if I am bleeding all over everything will you nodice more?”
I do not cut, but I think I understand the thought process behind it very well.
You know that cathartic feeling you get after you cry? I mean really cry. Uncontrolled sobbing because your best friend has just died, or your parents are getting a divorce. You feel a, very refreshing, sympathetic, release of tension, of pain, as if a weight that you have been straining under has been lifted. I think that everyone has felt this at some point in their lives.
Catharsis is, in fact, the most correct word. It was invented by Aristotle and has never lost its original meaning of: The purifying or relieving of the emotions by art (this was originally applied to the sense you get after watching a great drama).
In psychiatry, the alleviation of fears, problem, and complexes by bringing them to consciousness and giving them expression.
Some people are so depressed that they can no longer cry. No matter how much you may want to you cannot force a single tear. Cutting is a way around that. By cutting you can force that emotional catharsis. With depression you become so dead inside that you no longer really feel a poignant, sense of pain anymore. It is just dull and pervasive. So by cutting yourself, you can force a pain that is strong enough to cause crying or other release. You can finally feel some relief from the depression.
I do not agree. Unless you are utterly insane (I mean beyond schizophrenic, truly babbling to yourself nutty) you have a rationale behind what you do, i.e. you have reasons. Just as if you keep making the same mistake over and over in an algebra problem and end up with an answer that you know is incorrect, yet do not see how, people will make mistakes in judgment and value that cause neurosis to form. It is the job of a psychiatrist to work with you so that you see the mistake in judgment or evaluation that you are making in your life and then help you find how to correct the contradictions. When you are seeing things from the flawed perspective of the person with the neurosis, the actions are perfectly rational.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Pantone Swatchbook *
**It starts off as attention whoring, but can eventually develop into a full-fledged mental disorder.
I think it depends on the disorder of the person. If they are really depressed, then they may or may not do it to seek attention, but if they have a personality disorder (like the infamous borderline personality d/o) they they use it almost exclusively for attention-seeking.
Most depressed people do a lot of crap in private and hide it from the world, and some of them ‘act-out’ to get attention.
Personality disorders, however, love the spotlight, and trying to stop them only makes them ham it up all the more. The best way to help them is to deflect all their attention-seeking energy back toward them with a good sprinkle of ‘responsibility for your own behavior’. They’ll act out still, but it’s the best you can do for them. Or they can seek modern psychiatric help which is a pill and a bill, and that absolves them of all personal responsibility for anything they do.
Sometimes people cut themselves to mask the mental anguish that is even harder to bear. I myself had similar urges a long long time ago. The mental pain has been dulled by time, but I still realise how sharp and nasty it can be.