Cutters, Friends of Cutters...?

1. Who here has cut themself, or has a friend/friends who cuts?

i used to be a cutter, and i have a couple of friends who were too. i think it's a little different for everyone, so i can only give my own perspective on it.

2. Is this a form of stress relief?

when you want to cut, you feel like it's your only option. . .like otherwise you'll burst. there's so much flying through your mind, but at the same time you're numb. you turn whatever you're feeling, which you often can't understand, into hatred for yourself, and you want to punish yourself, and hurt yourself. it sounds crazy, and you kid of feel crazy while you're doing it, but it's your only way out.

3. What first caused you (or your friend/s) to try cutting?

i had been working with my friend, who was a real cutter, on helping her quit, and she kept saying how hard it was because it really helped her. i can't remember my first time, but i think it was when my parents were fighting and i was feeling really overwhelmed, and the idea of cutting to relieve some of the pain just came into my mind, i guess because of my friend. so i tried it, and it worked, and i was hooked.

4. How many of you have told an adult?

i actually started cutting as an adult. i never told anyone while i was still doing it, except one guy i went out with, when i wanted to let him know how much he hurt me. so i told him that i cut myself after he had done that hurtful thing, and he did not take it well, to say the least. he started saying how i must be unstable, and how could we have a family, and what would i tell the kids when they saw my scars. etc, etc.

5. If you haven't told an adult, what is your biggest hurdle in doing so?

exactly what i experienced with that guy. i don't think they could understand that i'm normal, and that it's just this one thing. . that i need to find a new way of coping. for someone who's never been there, as i had been before i started, when i tried to help my friend, you can't understand what it's like.

6. Do you want to stop, and if so, what have you done to re-direct your stress relief?

when i told my boyfriend and he reacted the way he did, i was really scared that i would lose him because of it. so i told him it's not something i'm addicted to, and i could stop any time i want. well, I ended up breaking up with HIM a few days later, but i wanted to prove to myelf that i really could stop. so that was my last time.

7. How many of you have tried oniline sites like recoveryourlife.com to cope with cutting?

i found that all those things tell you to confide in someone, and i just didn't have that person in my life to be there for me in that way.

8. If it is not too personal, what are your ages and sexes?

i'm a female between the ages of twenty and twenty five.

9. Do you listen to emo?

nope

10. Is it stereotyping to ask if you listen to emo, or is it true there is a link between this type of music and cutting?

i'll say this again. . . i'm a normal girl, and i have a normal life. cutting was not something that fit into my lifestyle, it was a completely separate part of me, and, now that i'm out of it, i'd like to say that i hope it was never really ME.

i hope this can help you with whatever you need to know. good luck! oh, and if you ever meet anyone who's considering cutting, please let them know that it's an addiction. and the easiest way to get out is never to get in in the first place, so please, do whatever it takes to stay clean.

1. I used to be a cutter, have since turned to another behavior that are not quite as obvious-- biting my fingernails and skin on my fingers.

2. The nail biting is, but the cutting and the biting the skin off of my fingers is more for the pain aspects for me. I know everyone is different and does it for different reasons, but for me, the cutting was a way for me to feel the pain that I felt I deserved to feel (survivor of sexual abuse). It was a way to punish myself.

3. I first tried cutting because I had been brutally abused by my father, and I had heard that if you have pain somewhere else on your body, you won't feel the more painful pain which is the initial pain. So I began cutting as a way to take the pain away from other body parts that were hurting.

4. I am an adult, but when I was cutting as a minor, I told an adult. It was a school counselor, who ended up telling my father, who was my abuser, so I got in more trouble and more abuse at home for speaking out. (Back then, there was no confidentiality- it was the mid 1970s and early 1980s).

I am going to skip the rest due to time constraints, but I will say that I am a male, age 35 and no, I do not listen to emo (who is emo? I know ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) but not emo) and for number 7, no I have not tried online recovery sites. I cope and I have for the most part overcome the behaviors..

1. I have cut many times and I have many friends who are cutters

2. Yes

3. It just seemed like a good/helpful thing to do... and it is! kinda.

4. I have told an adult but my friends havent

5. -

6. I have signed a contract saying I wouldn't cut anymore. it is so hard because it was so addictive! When I feel like cutting, I get away, go for a walk or something

7. I am always on the net trying to find help and support!

8. I am 17, Female

9. no... ok, yes

10. I think it is stereotyping, I cut because I suffer Depression, not because I'm 'emo'!

Hope this is helpful...

1. Who here has cut themself, or has a friend/friends who cuts?

i do, some of my friends do, it's all good

2. Is this a form of stress relief?

sometimes? sometimes it's fun

3. What first caused you (or your friend/s) to try cutting?

um, why wouldn't someone try?

4. How many of you have told an adult?

i never did, but after a year of not wearing short-sleeves, people get suspicious, you know?

5. If you haven't told an adult, what is your biggest hurdle in doing so?

lol, well they tend not to like it, you know?

6. Do you want to stop, and if so, what have you done to re-direct your stress relief?

no, i don't want to stop. if i wanted to stop, duh i would stop

7. How many of you have tried online sites like recoveryourlife.com to cope with cutting?

ew, never

8. If it is not too personal, what are your ages and sexes?

15, female

9. Do you listen to emo?

NOOO ew!!!

10. Is it stereotyping to ask if you listen to emo, or is it true there is a link between this type of music and cutting?

okay, maybe for some people, i don't know, but not for me.

1. I am a current cutter.. but I am trying to stop.

2. sorta but it doesn't really work...

3. I don't know

4. I told my mom around the beginning that was over two years ago

6. Yes I tried to talk to friends, but it didn't work out so well

7. I've tried a few sites like that

8. 16 female

9. yes but it's only a small genre of what I listen to

10. I think it is stereotyping.......

hope that helped

1. both

2. I dunno, sort of I guess... It's just comforting and it numbs the pain.

3. me, couldn't really control the impolse (did I spell that right?). My "friends", it really depends on the person.

4. most people don't tell others, but others normally find out through signs/signals/hints of pain in certain areas where they have cut or depression.

5. it's complicated.

6. I've stopped (so far, for a while at least). Now I normally just give myself another peircing, and that's usually good enough.

7. I've never heard of anything like that...

8. teen, fem

9. no...

10. people say that there's a link between the two, but not really.

1) yes i do

2)don't really know

3)its been a while but i think i just wanted to know if i could do it.

you know like testing myself too see how strong i was.

4)never told anyone, some people suspect but no one has confronted me about it yet.

5)n/a

6)no i don't want to stop.

7)n/a

8)17 female

9)no

10)no

1. me 2. yes 3. ? 4.no 5. n/a 6. ? 7. ? 8. 50m (since 13) 9.no 10. no

i have cut

for me, it is relief

intense anger, frustration, stress

i didnt tell, but mom saw and i had no choice but to admit. i dont offer the info, but i give it if asked.

i cant talk to my mom about anything, and i want to continue, so, she would only stop me

i dont want to stop. i only rarely do it anyway. i vent through my art mostly

i havent tried sites

sixteen, male

i dont like emo much, i love metal though. love it.

the music is an effect of our feelings and emotions. so is the cutting, so they are linked, but they dont cause eachother. they are caused by the same thing though

I had a friend who cut her self and... well I preached to her to stop for a striaght week everyday I would tell her to stop, then her boy friend comes along and tells her to stop in 1 day and she stops so it really depends on the person. I unno thats just my opinion