Why do I feel the need to hurt myself?

for me, the reason i self harmed was that, i was able to control the pain i felt on the outside and it distracted me from the pain inside.

The pain deep inside cannot be heard or understood by anyone else but me. It gets overpowering when I feel nobody understands my pain (usually it's mental / emotional pain) that it could come to a point, by hurting myself physically.. the pain from the outer layer that can be seen and felt becomes more painful than what's inside for that moment. well of course it's also because of self-hatred, feeling unworthy, worthless, hopeless, etc. However, self-hurt isn't a solution; it's actually a mechanism of avoiding the true struggle that's happening inside.

Sometimes a person has the tendency to hurt himself/herself to be able to bring out the pain that killing him/her inside. The physical pain that he/she inflicts somehow lessen the demise that he/she is experiencing. Some might find hurting himself/herself as an avenue to contain his/her situation.

When I struggled with self harm, it was because I felt numb to any type of emotion. I didn't hurt myself because I wanted to end my life, I hurt myself because I no longer wanted to feel numb.

When you hurt yourself your body releases chemicals called endorphins, these are 'feel good' hormones. Self harm can help you cope with difficult thoughts and feelings and endorphins make us feel better about ourselves.

Self-harm might be a way of expressing self-control. It shows you that you have some control over your life. Another reason may be self-punishment.

Because physical pain makes you forget the emotional pain. But once u stop self harming the pain will come back. And so it's always once more.

Because sometimes it feels like there is no other way to deal with things. Sometimes all you want to do is take attention away from emotional pain no matter the cost.

Sometimes people feel the need to self harm when they are in great emotional distress and they start blamng themselves for everything that has gone wrong in their life. Other times, people use self harming as a means of getting attention from those around them. Regardless of the reason though, self harming will never fix anything. It will not fix one's problems, and it's certainly not a healthy way of asking for attention. Whatever the issue may be, if the urge is intense and you find yourself thinking about it a lot, you should definitely talk about it with someone you trust and someone whom you know is going to be there for you and support you through it. Whether that is a friend, a family member, or even a therapist. Self harm is never the answer to any problem.

You could be going through a rough time and hurting yourself is a way to release emotions and to sometimes feel better. Right now that could be your best way to release, and that's why you feel the need to. It ends up being a bit like an addiction. But just know that there are options out there, to help you stop and to find healthier methods of release.