Help Reasons to stop cutting

[KnightOfSwords]

I don't care if it leaves scars or if there's a risk of infection. I also don't give a shit about what others think. So I kinda don't see why cutting is bad for me. Folks around the internet try to stay clean and share their progress but me personally I can't come up with a reason to stop doing it. Arguments about it being a faulty coping mechanism and creating wrong connections in my brain seem too far and detached from what is here and how. What am I missing? Maybe someone can share reasons to quit.

 

[Cloud Busting]

This is what you're feeling now, which may shift over time. It may not. For me, I used to love self harm. I felt much like you. I didn't care about the scars nor the damage or what anyone thought. I glorified it, reveled in it, and was honestly proud of it.

Now I actually feel shame. It's the only thing I've ever done in life that I regret. Regrets are a waste of time so I'm working on sorting all that out atm. Will this happen to you? I can't say. We don't know each other, and everyone is different.

I can share my story of why I quit, but if you're not interested get it. You've probably heard a million of them and they all blur together and sound the same after awhile. Idk if I have anything new to offer.

Clearly cutting is working for you right now. Why do you do it? What do you get out of it? Are there any drawbacks to it or is it wholly positive for you? Do the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa?

What do you mean by too far detached from the hear and now?

What would be valid reasons to quit from your pov?

 

[KnightOfSwords]

You've probably heard a million of them and they all blur together and sound the same after awhile

Stories def blend together but I'd like to hear a story from you, what if it's the one I need to hear to sort things out

Are there any drawbacks to it or is it wholly positive for you?

I feel like cutting is wrong. We aren't supposed to do it because of pain, it's not logical. But this doesn't convince me enough

Now I actually feel shame

Why is this so? Cutting worked for you at some point of your life and you had your reasons, as well as reasons to quit

 

[bl33ding_heart]

It's not just about scars and infections. Your skin is an organ, and continually afflicting harm on to it is very damaging and will eventually cause chronic problems. Like nerve damage, and chronic pain as a result of that. I understand having a lack of care for the future during the present especially while you are suffering so much. You can never really know how you'll feel once time has passed, it's hard to tell what your mind will look like. But caring about the future now is what makes a difference and makes things better for you. I hope you are able to find healthier coping mechanisms that work well for you.

 

[KnightOfSwords]

It's not just about scars and infections. Your skin is an organ, and continually afflicting harm on to it is very damaging and will eventually cause chronic problems. Like nerve damage, and chronic pain as a result of that. I understand having a lack of care for the future during the present especially while you are suffering so much. You can never really know how you'll feel once time has passed, it's hard to tell what your mind will look like. But caring about the future now is what makes a difference and makes things better for you. I hope you are able to find healthier coping mechanisms that work well for you.

Thanks. I don't know how to put it but it really helps reminding myself that blood is not just pretty liquid but my tissue, and skin is my organ too, not of less importance then the ones that are inside. Thinking of myself as of weird meat mechanism that needs maintenance and gentle handling to function makes self care easier.

 

[Cloud Busting]

Stories def blend together but I'd like to hear a story from you, what if it's the one I need to hear to sort things out

I was 13 when I started. I did it while listening to Fall Out Boy which is fucking hilarious. All hail 2007. What a cliche I can't.

What it did for me is I had emotions I couldn't safely express. I was an outcast, a misfit, I was bullied. I came from a broken family with secrets behind closed doors. So I didn't feel I could process or express or even feel these feelings. I didn't want to feel them all alone, but I was alone, so I could cut and not have to feel that shit.

A prime cutting song for me lol:



At the time this song was like three cheers for sweet revenge, now it's like an ode to youth. Ah youth. What a mess.

"If I cut, I won't look like this, if I cut, if I cut I won't feel like this shit"

Yeah this song basically described the urgency, the immediacy, the reckless impulse of my habit and just being broken and feeling nihilistic and doomed in a teenage wasteland

One day, when I was 18, I think, I was somehow able to cut to fat on my thigh with a pencil sharpener blade. I wasn't expecting that.

I made a tourniquet, and it bled for 2-4 hours. I didn't want to deal with getting treated like shit and then evaluated at the ER. Usually, when mom found out I cut myself, we'd get into a huge fight.

I asked her for butterfly bandages. To my surprise, she calmly applied first aid and said, "woah, you did a doozy." I'll never forget the torment in her eyes. It's the moment I realized she loved me, and it hurt her to watch me self destruct, and she only reacted the way she did because she felt helpless.

That was the first time in five years that I actually wanted to quit.

I struggled with the habit for many years afterwards but no longer was it a source of pride. It was embarrassing, shameful. Eventually I did it less and less, and when I did it was a one off (land the older I got it was mostly burning, some cutting.) I mostly replaced it with sex, drugs, alcohol, relationships, that kinda shit.

I like never really get the urge anymore. Sometimes if I'm really drunk I'll do it, did it with an exacto when drunk recently and I was so embarrassed and felt so stupid lol

Basically my coping skills are really shit and I still struggle with self gratification/impulse control but it's the one behavior I just feel so much shame and guilt over it just…. It doesn't really work anymore. There's no pleasure in it. Essentially I just found better vices lol

 

[SoverignDreamer97]

I don't cut, but the question I have is, why do you cut?

 

[tiredofthis12]

the more you cut, the more your body has to heal. If you do drugs or drink alcohol, you are basically limiting your immune response on fighting off the toxins from the substances but also from healing those cuts or fighting infections. Over time your health can really deteriorate and if you ever get sick, it makes it that much harder for to heal. If it got bad enough, you could develop an autoimmune disease of sorts.

 

[hurts2b]

If you actually want a reason to stop then I'll give you one: Mess. It's such a pain in the ass to clean up blood. Cost is a major reason too. Supplies can be expensive.

If you're on the fence, have a more detailed answer:

SH is a deeply impractical thing all around.

It's a case of deminishing returns. It's less effective the more you do it, at least in my experience. There's an aspect of mental fixation that can fester, and negate any benefits.
You start thinking about it so much it eats up your time and even gets in the way of your obligations.

While in the present you might not care about infections or scars, if you make it to the future you might end up seeing it differently. Not saying you will, just that you could in theory. It's simply a risk you're taking on.

SH always comes with the possibility of going too far, doing too much, causing permanent nerve damage and the like. You can find some pretty gnarly stories about it if you search hard enough.

Up to you what to do with this information, of course. Only you can know if the pros outweigh the cons for you personally.

 

[KnightOfSwords]

I was 13 when I started. I did it while listening to Fall Out Boy which is fucking hilarious. All hail 2007. What a cliche I can't.

What it did for me is I had emotions I couldn't safely express. I was an outcast, a misfit, I was bullied. I came from a broken family with secrets behind closed doors. So I didn't feel I could process or express or even feel these feelings. I didn't want to feel them all alone, but I was alone, so I could cut and not have to feel that shit.

A prime cutting song for me lol:



At the time this song was like three cheers for sweet revenge, now it's like an ode to youth. Ah youth. What a mess.

"If I cut, I won't look like this, if I cut, if I cut I won't feel like this shit"

Yeah this song basically described the urgency, the immediacy, the reckless impulse of my habit and just being broken and feeling nihilistic and doomed in a teenage wasteland

One day, when I was 18, I think, I was somehow able to cut to fat on my thigh with a pencil sharpener blade. I wasn't expecting that.

I made a tourniquet, and it bled for 2-4 hours. I didn't want to deal with getting treated like shit and then evaluated at the ER. Usually, when mom found out I cut myself, we'd get into a huge fight.

I asked her for butterfly bandages. To my surprise, she calmly applied first aid and said, "woah, you did a doozy." I'll never forget the torment in her eyes. It's the moment I realized she loved me, and it hurt her to watch me self destruct, and she only reacted the way she did because she felt helpless.

That was the first time in five years that I actually wanted to quit.

I struggled with the habit for many years afterwards but no longer was it a source of pride. It was embarrassing, shameful. Eventually I did it less and less, and when I did it was a one off (land the older I got it was mostly burning, some cutting.) I mostly replaced it with sex, drugs, alcohol, relationships, that kinda shit.

I like never really get the urge anymore. Sometimes if I'm really drunk I'll do it, did it with an exacto when drunk recently and I was so embarrassed and felt so stupid lol

Basically my coping skills are really shit and I still struggle with self gratification/impulse control but it's the one behavior I just feel so much shame and guilt over it just…. It doesn't really work anymore. There's no pleasure in it. Essentially I just found better vices lol

Woah, thanks for sharing. I'm sorry you had to deal with it. I don't know how to reply properly but I'll try to remember you next time I have the urge to cut

If you actually want a reason to stop then I'll give you one: Mess. It's such a pain in the ass to clean up blood. Cost is a major reason too. Supplies can be expensive.

If you're on the fence, have a more detailed answer:

SH is a deeply impractical thing all around.

It's a case of deminishing returns. It's less effective the more you do it, at least in my experience. There's an aspect of mental fixation that can fester, and negate any benefits.
You start thinking about it so much it eats up your time and even gets in the way of your obligations.

While in the present you might not care about infections or scars, if you make it to the future you might end up seeing it differently. Not saying you will, just that you could in theory. It's simply a risk you're taking on.

SH always comes with the possibility of going too far, doing too much, causing permanent nerve damage and the like. You can find some pretty gnarly stories about it if you search hard enough.

Up to you what to do with this information, of course. Only you can know if the pros outweigh the cons for you personally.

Well, you're kinda right, it definitely stops feeling the same after some time, I didn't think it would require more and more. I thought I would be fine as long as I don't cut too deep