Why does self-harming feels comforting when it is obviously damaging myself?

Self harm helps dissociate from the emotional pain.. and the emotional pain for a short time period. Also, physiologically, brain releases pain relieving hormones in response to a physical injury.

by self harming, you release a flood of endorphins or "feel good" hormones. these are meant to reduce the pain you feel from a cut but can become addictive

Usually it is because it serves a purpose. It is destructive, but you need to find a new coping mechanism to replace it. It probably won't go away completely unfortunately.

I think it has a lot to do with control. It was a way to turn my pain into a physical and tangible thing. It enabled me to turn my mental pain into physical pain and feel a temporary release, but it's just that. Temporary. I used to look back and feel ashamed of myself afterwards. Exercise, for me, has been the best alternative.

The pain from the cutting, burning etc. converts the emotional pain into physical pain which is much easier to haandle.

For me personally, in the moment I was not thinking about the effects that harming myself will might on me physically. Inside I was in intense pain and feeling very out of control. Harming myself was simply the best way i knew of regulating these emotions. When people feel the need to self harm it usually means they feel emotionally disregulated and the act of harming helps to bring the body's emotional arousal down to a more tolerable level. One of the keys to understanding how to gain control over self-harming behaviours is to increase the number of different coping strategies you have available to you.

Self-harming feels comforting because it provides a reprieve or "blanket" from the outside world. It also may be a distraction so you don't feel, but these are observations, because the exact reason it's comforting varies.

It partly feels comforting because its often a release of emotions, its almost like wearing to tight jeans, its uncomfortable, but you take them off and its a release, a comforting one. But please remember that you are harming yourself, there are people to talk to, who even through just talking to can help release those emotions. The person you talk to could be anyone, a parent, a friend or a teacher/collegue your doctor, or even someone on here, Their part is to listen, and it might help you tell them this at the beginning. Try to find another way of releasing those emotions. I hope this has helped.

It feels comforting because our body is releasing chemicals to counteract the pain from self harm. However these cemicals wear off quickly and leave us wanting more which is what give us the continuous need for self harm. Its essentially a drug. Because your body acts the same way.