Why can't I stop self-harming?

Depends on your reason for self-harm. If you do it for attention (not saying you do. Just a scenario), then you must be getting some attention for it and desire more. Something in your brain is saying it is positive to do this.

Maybe you are having lack of attention, so it is your call to others. You should try to express yourself with writing or art or just talk honestly with other people who should care about you more :)

Because we believe we can distract ourselves with pain so all it takes is one cut.

After a while, self-harm becomes an addiction. When you reach this point, it's hard to stop and it constantly worries you.

I couldn't either. Maybe because it takes away the pain. Maybe because you feel better when you do it.. But you feel so much better when you can stop. You feel proud, than you'll really feel better. Try the butterfly project, it would really help.

There is always a reason why you self-harm - to cope with stress, anger or disappointment maybe, or, because you don't know how to express your emotions properly. Furthermore, once you start, self-harm can be very addicting, probably because the body releases dopamine, a hormone, to "cover up" the pain. To be able to stop self-harming you need to find alternatives to it, other ways to deal with the reason why you started in the first place. Maybe it helps to talk to a friend, to go see a therapist, to watch a funny movie to distract yourself, to hurt yourself with rubber bands instead or last but not least, to talk to somebody here on 7Cups

Some people they feel like self harming is the only way to cope with what is going on with life , they feel like all those negative emotions they keep bottled up are released and they feel happy . They just need to learn ways to cope other than self harming

You can't stop self-harming because you have become addicted to it. If you are struggling with self-harm, you should seek professional help such as a counselor and they will provide steps that will help you with your recovery.

Self-harming becomes a habit normally after doing it long-term. I suggest some therapy and doctor visits if you cannot stop it.

This is a very good question. The answer is complex and simple at the same time. The simple answer is it becomes an addiction. Your body releases dopamine and other happy chemicals which is why after self harming you’ll have a short time where you are feeling better. This moment of feeling better fuels the addiction even more. If it is your resort to self harm every time in distress your brain can adapt and get “used” to this form of release. However, it is not impossible to stop. There are a lot of resources online on ways you can stop self harming. Hope I helped