People who cut are in desperate need of psychological help. Causing a physical hurt instead of addressing the psychological ones, or addressing the life situation that causes the problems is a terrible way to live. Work on ELIMINATING your pain, not adding to it.

If your present pyschotherapist is not helping you with this it's time to look at changing therapists.

dis,

My step-daughter has been a cutter for several years. She is 17 now, and has had some help. Only recently has she been able to wear short sleeves. (She cuts the upper arm area.)

I would agree with Isadora, your therapist should be able to help you find other ways to cope with your situation than to hurt yourself. I'm praying for you!

Well Katherine, do YOU think what you're doing is normal? Do you think anyone who must depend on drugs to get them through the day and/or night is normal ? Do you think someone who does this could benefit from therapy ? What would YOU suggest to a person with these obvious problems ?

Your tone tells me that, instead of asking for help, you are throwing out a challenge to the group, ergo, "If you don't answer just the question I asked, I won't listen."

If you are already saying DUH! to people, some of whom are truly here to help, you are not really asking for help. To answer your question anyway: Yes, I know many women who were cutters. All of them needed a super-competent therapist. Many of them were crippled by borderline personality disorder which caused them to continue to act against their best interests to prove whatever point they were making.

Most of the women I worked with who cut were victims of severe abuse both as children and as adults and had no alternative behavioral means to deal with the pain.

The logic of cutting is sick. If I cut myself, I will forget about the pain of living. Well there is a hole in that one that a cow could fall through: If you cut yourself, you will have all the problems you had before you cut yourself and one new one, a scar that will single you out to the world as a cutter. Cuts heal, the scars left by whatever happened to you all your life won't simply go away.

We know that cutting is anger and no way to deal with it, low self-esteem and a belief that this is all the identity you have ... but you fully expect to be around tomorrow to brag about it and cut again, but if you nick the wrong nack, you bleed more than you expected.

Dear, stop the self-deception. For the first time in your life, believe that not everybody is against you. No one is making fun of you but at the same time, kick a well-meaning person and he or she will abandon ship so you can say that nobody loves you even though you pushed them away.

Me? I'm not eaxy to push away. I don't take anything you say perosnally. You are rejecting yourself when you reject help, not me. Go get real help. It is your only hope unless you want to up the anti and cut yourself a ribbon. Get help; you need to cry a river and have someone really hear you when you do. Cutting only makes the razor blade and bandage people a little richer ... and you one more day away from what lies at the end of the cutting road, when cutting doesn't do the job any more ... death.

God bless. Get help. Let us know how it is going. Peiople here can help you by being there to talk to but most of the folks here are not experts on symptoms of deep-seated issues. The few who are are telling you what to do and how to do it.

I updated the above for more clarification.

I just keep asking the question why ,but I know I will never figure it out the first day I notices my daughter cutting herself she was 14. As her parents we got her help and she was doing so very well now she is 24 and her pain is back so bad from the loss of her son that the cutting is starting all over again and I just want to know why? I have gone to concealing with her and by myself to undrstand the pain that all of you are in and I want to help so please help me to understand.

I have never cut, but my niece did quite a few times! Nothing serious (as far as cutting can go)! I tried it once years ago, but I only did it twice---not my thing, pills are my out! This means I would overdose before I would cut and bleed! As of today, I overdosed 3 times! It's not for sympathy or anything like that, you just want everything to go away and which ever way you handle the pain, its your choice! Im sorry you feel like cutting! See a Dr. shrink, to see if they could teach you different ways to deal with everything you have going on so you dont cut!therapy never worked for me either! I go to my shrink once a month! I am on a few medications and now, today, I do NOT even have the urge to take the pills or overdose! Disenchanted, I will pray for you!

sfco@ptd.net