[HankReardon]

Every stupid behavior can easily be defended as a mental disorder.

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Cutting is a coping mechanism. A release. People who cut do it for the same reason people keep journals or cry. Cutting is the only way for us to keep our sanity. You see, cutters learned in their childhood that negative emotions are 'bad' and should not be express, and yet they can not keep these emotions inside. They express their negative emotions through self-harm. Others were mistreated as a child, and associate pain with a negative behavior, and self-injury is a sort of punishment in place of the abuse they received as a child. Cutters often refer to cutting, burning, bruising, etc as SI (self-injury) and some cutters refer to themselves as "Cookie Cutters".

[broken_will_crimson_tears]

Self Injury is deliberately haming oneself as a coping mechanism. It is caused by the emotional stress that the person is incapable, for whatever reason, of dealing with. For these people, Self Injury is an escape, a way to relieve numbness, and an expression of pain. Self Injury is not a suicide attempt.

Types of Self Injury:
Cutting, burning, bone breaking, head banging, small over doses, excesive nail biting, excessive lip biting, wrist banging, hitting oneself, trichotillomania (hair pulling), excessive skin picking, scratching, interference with wound healing, biting.

In rare cases, usually associated with psychosis is castration and amputation.

Some Autistics repeatedly bang their heads or bite their lips.

Reaons for Self Injury:

Feel real, escape emotions, escape reality, make emotional pain more real, feel in charge / have control, release, coping, self hate, stress and anger release.

Warning Signs:

Dysphoria- Experiencing depression, irritability, tension, and sensitivity to rejection
Self hate
Chronic anger or anxiety
Impulsiveness
Unexplainable bruises, cuts, or burns
~www.recoveryourlife.com~