Why is self harming so addictive?

This is one of those sensitive topics that can easily be answered in many different ways, in my own personal opinion it is so addictive because once you start you feel like youre being controlled over. When you self harm and you release all of the pain that youve been storing in all this time it can be quite difficult to stop. Also because you might be feeling like you deserve this pain, which is not the case at all.

First, it keeps your mind occupied and you don't focus on other things like emotional pain anymore. That can be a feeling that you may need again and again. Furthermore physical pain releases endorphines in your body in order to make you feel less pain which makes you feel better emotionally, too.

I think it's because everytime you do it you feel like you need more to reach the same feeling. eventually you'll rely on it too feel good. it's a way to cope and if you don't find others ways to cope with your feelings you might not see another solution.

Those who self-harm often do so because they are surrounded by so much pain and frustration. Their circumstances are out of their control. When they self-harm, they discover a pain that is within their control, something that they can decide the severity and length of. That sense of control and power is what can feel so addicting, and the act of self-harm can also have a numbing or distracting effect that is just as addictive.

People often say that self-harm is addictive because of the relief or sensation of pain that they experience when they self harm. For some people it's about feeling something when they're feeling numb and for others it's about feeling physical pain rather than being overwhelmed by emotional pain. Either way it often doesn't last a very long time and they end up wanting to self-harm again to get the same result

Our bodies release Endorphins when we self-harm. It's a stress reliever for many people, and it makes us feel good & relaxed in the moment. But once that moment is over, the urge to harm again is even stronger, so we do it all over again. It's obviously an unhealthy coping skill, but the chemicals our bodies release when we cut is addicting. It's the same chemical that is released when we eat comfort food, when we're happy, when we connect socially and when we exercise. I recommend using one of these healthy coping skills rather than self-harming. Painting, running, baking, smiling, and spending time with my friends, family or pets are ways I use to healthily cope whenever I feel the urge to harm myself :)

It is so addicting because it makes you feel in control of yourself, it makes you feel something other than all the other overwhelming emotions. It's addicting because when it works once, you need it to work again and again. when it doesn't work you step it up and up until it does work.

Self harm's addictive since the pain you originally felt transferred into a different type of pain.

Self harming behaviors are highly addictive because they release the same endorphins in the brain as some drugs do. Things like dopamine and serotonin are secreted when one self harms. These hormones are someone who is self harming is actually seeking because they alleviate whatever emotional crisis the individual is undergoing. When emotional pain isn't healed it can manifest into something much more difficult to bear than a few cuts or burns. The brain's pain center takes priority over the emotional portion and for a few brief moments the emotional pain is overpowered by the physical one.