why does cutting make me feel better but then bad afterwards?

It's a temporary solution to a major problem. Emotional and physical pain are quite closely linked. It provides temporary release. Whilst it feels good in the moment, because it is technically drawing your attention away from the emotional pain and towards the physical pain, the feelings of guilt return soon after. These feelings will also return with quite a force, as they will return hand in hand with the feelings you had before self harming, as self harm does not "take away" the bad feelings permanently. I truly hope that you are okay, and please make sure to call your local crisis line if you feel you are in danger.

hey! so sorry to hear that you're struggling with self harm at the moment, and as a self harmer myself, i think i am eligible to answer this this question. self harm, like cutting, releases hormones like endorphins, and dopamine, which provide temporary relief from the mental pain, because it shifts the mind's focus on the physical pain, rather than the mental pain. after the effect of the dopamine and the endorphins is over (because it is temporary) and the focus comes back to the mental pain, we tend to experience feelings of shame, guilt, and anger for cutting (or harming ourselves). this cycle of emotional suffering => emotional overload => panic => self harm => temporary relief => guilt/shame is often experienced by those who self harm. if you're struggling with self harm, i want you to know that you're not alone, and you can get help for this. talking to a therapist could also reveal some underlying issues that could be causing you to self harm. there could be many reasons for that, and in most of the cases it can be helped. once again, you're not alone in this battle, and if you think you might need urgent assistance, kindly check out this crisis resource center: 7cups.com/crisis take care of yourself!

Cutting makes you feel better at first because it relieves the tension caused by your sadness/anxiety/whatever else that makes you cut in a situation. I used to have a problem with cutting and scratching so I would personally do it to take my mind off of other things, it sort of relives the tension because we think that we have punished ourselves whether that is consciously or unconsciously. Soon after the breakdown and punishment phase has subdued, we feel guilt. The guilt of hurting our own body, why we did this instead of being productive/better/whatnot. It not only hurts you physically, it hurts you mentally. Then because of that, the cycle just repeats itself every time something new happens.

I understand that cutting is a release for many people. You may be cutting to avoid strong feeling you are having. It sounds like you feel a release and maybe guilt afterwords. Personally I understand how you feel. Cutting can cause these mixed up motions to occur. Some things that you could try to get a release could be, holding a cold object, putting a rubber band on your wrist or even exercising. It is never fun to act on the urge of cutting when it brings up negative emotions afterwards. You are so strong and I believe in your recovery!

I believe it transfers emotional pain to physical pain which is easier to deal with. Also, the body releases adrenaline which dampen the pain receptors and then we dont feel pain. You probably feel bad afterwards as you may not wanted to hurt yourself but had to in order to stop the tortureous pain. Hopefully this helps. I am not sure what else to write. I guess i am very concise with my answer but they want 100 words minimum. However Inthink you may have gotten the point of what I was saying. I hope things get better for you.