Why do I feel the need to physically harm myself when I feel depressed?

I blame myself for the way i feel and the situations i'm in, therefore i feel i deserve the pain and suffering..

Because you feel like it's the only solution. You're probably hurting yourself because you feel like punishing yourself. Emotional pain is just as bad as physical pain so by hurting on the inside could make you want to hurt on the outside. To me... physical pain numbs the emotional pain which is why I did it.

**NOTE: I do not condone self harming as a way of coping** The feeling of needing to physically harm oneself when feeling depressed can occur for a few different reasons. This is something I have dealt with for many years, and am still working through it.But here are the most common reasons I've done it or have heard other people have self harmed: 1. It gives a sense of control-when we're depressed we can't really control whether or not we're happy. We just end up in this "mood" and anyone that has dealt with depression, knows that you can't just turn it on or off whenever you want to. 2. We want to feel something-often times when people are depressed they feel emotionally "numb", but if they cut,burn, scratch, pull their hair out, binge, purge, or any other way of self harming, it gives them the sense of feeling SOMETHING; even if it does have negative affects. 3. It's distracting-Sometimes when being depressed it can come with a lot of unwanted thoughts, and all we want is for those thoughts to go away! We need a distraction, and sometimes the normal ways of coping (ie listening to music, journaling, taking a really hot/cold shower/bath, going for a walk) don't work, so we turn to self harming. I know that for me personally there have been times that I've self harmed and even though it only gave me 15 minutes of "peace" from unwanted thoughts, that was enough for me. No, self harming is not the way to deal with our problems, it doesn't make our problems go away, it doesn't really fix anything....but it's something people deal with every single day and it's something I wish was addressed more often. If this is something that you struggle with please, please, talk with someone-there are so many other resources out there to use as a way of coping with depression, stress, or any other emotions. Realize that it's ok to have these emotions-we're human, but they need to be dealt with appropriately. Stay strong!

Harming yourself accomplishes two things. First it is a form of punishing yourself so you can feel as badly on the outside as you do on the inside. Secondly, it releases endorphins and temporarily makes you feel better. Unfortunately it's not a good overall strategy and the harm required to feel better escalates over time. It's best to deal with what's depressing you in other ways and avoid the harm cycle altogether.

Because you take mental, emotional pain and imagine it as physical. You want it out. So cutting the flesh feels like an escape. The blood lost is like looking at the pain being left from your body. Of course, this never ends the pain. It never helps.

When you feel depressed, you often feel guilty and like you deserve pain. This can lead to several different forms of self harm.

Scientifically speaking, pain releases endorphins, so causing yourself physical pain brings out the feel-good receptors. Also, looking at it in a bit of a different way, it's a way for you to have control when you feel like you're losing it.

Cause you need to prove yourself you feel something even if it is pain, and the sensation is relaxing in a strange way

It's either an automatic reacton, you associate depression with the harm. It's a way to cope, although not a very good one. Take a red marker and write, draw, design where you would normally cut. You might feel release when you do it but try to redirect your actions, hold an ice cube until you can't stand it,

Some people use this as another way to express their emotions. This sometimes releases tension that someone has.