Why do you cut yourself when it does nearly nothing to you except hurt yourself?

Cutting is more of an urge. A craving. As you slide the blade across your skin it releases all of the bad inside of you, and the good stays in. We cut flowers because we think they are beautiful, we cut ourselves because we think we are not. I would NEVER encourage self-harm, and anybody who needs help PLEASE message me ^-^ I am always available. I was just getting my point across because people dont self-harm because it hurts them, they self-harm because everything else does. It is also a distraction, because as you feel the pain, all you can think about is the pain, and you completely forget about the girl who bullies you everyday, you forget the time your anxiety went mad, and all you think about is the numbness you feel. It's almost relaxing. There are other ways. ^-^

I think it does different things for each person. For example, when I cut myself I feel like I'm just getting what I deserve. It's like I'm punishing myself for something wrong once again. I had a friend though who told me she did it to calm down. She'd be panicking and practicality going crazy, and cutting calmed her down. Everyone has a different reason.

Individuals with a wide array of problems turn to self-harm for many different reasons. One reason may be to "feel something" - self-harm can be used to feel the pain that an individual is incapable of feeling. Another reason may be to calm, focus, or distract ones train of thought. While the individual is self harming, they are using a massive amount of concentration to do so, and thus are slowing their thoughts about other topics. Self harm also can be done for the sensation, as cutting creates tactile sensation, as well as the fact that it releases a number of hormones. Finally, some find that self harm is a way to punish themselves for perceived failures. There are a plurality of reasons, but the reason why self harming is particularly problematic is that it is maladaptive and effective at accomplishing its users' goals.

A lot of the time people self harm not to cause more pain, but to take the pain that floods their mind and place it somewhere that they can handle it better. The physical pain seems to dull the internal pain. It's a release. Also some people who self harm severely and bleed a lot get this sort of dazed and numb feeling. Years and years ago medical professions would actually cause people to bleed out a bit to treat basically anything. A lot of them thought it was really working because people's pain and symptoms would seem to get much better, but this was really just due to the fact that when you lose a lot of blood your body is so focused on replenishing your blood and clotting the wound that it isn't focused on other issues. I believe this is the same idea for self harm. You and your body are so tuned in to what you're doing and feeling physically that the mental pain gets pushed to the side. But that's the big problem with self harm is that the feeling of relief is usually very temporary and some people feel very guilty and ashamed after words. Others can become very addicted to this behavior because it becomes their emotional painkiller. Sometimes media and friends can influence self harming behavior especially in young teens. It isn't uncommon to see someone exploiting their behavior for anyone to see (such a pictures and videos.) This can for 1. Be very triggering to people who already self harm. 2. Might make someone more tempted to do it themselves because it seems glorified sometimes, much like pro ana sites. I know when I was a lot younger it almost became a trend. This one girl was showing us how you could burn yourself with an eraser or gradually scrape your skin off with a pair or scissors. And before you knew it a handful of people began doing it, not even realizing how serious it really was, and that it might even invade their life for years. That's what happened to me. Eventually I realized the the pain was soothing, and instead of getting a kiss goodnight, I'd fall asleep with the painkiller in my hand.

Because people who self harm feel so much emotional pain that they want to feel physical pain to replace the emotional pain

Because the emotional pain one feels becomes too much. He'd rather feel pain physically than emotionally, because emotional pain is a lot worse than physical pain. It's like our form of substitution.

This is a common misconception. It may hurt the outside but for many individuals it is a release of the hurt on the inside and a form of control over the negatives in your life. Sometimes that is more help than the little cut hurts. However, there are so many better ways to find a release that do not hurt you. Maybe music, arts, or just talking can help because in the end, it may be a release to cut but the fact is, it will come back. Reach out and it can only help!

its used as a coping mechanism, most people know it will hurt, but it diverts attention and many other reasons.

For many it is a form of coping, a bad one, but it seems helpful to them. When you cut, there are chemicals released in your brain that give a false feeling of happiness. It's to counter the pain but if somebody is sad and cuts, it appears to help them even though it hurts them.

When you cut yourself, it is because the mental pain you feel can not be dealt with, but physical pain is tangible and real. You can nurse it and fix it, and it will eventually heal. Physical pain is easier to cope with.