I'm noticing a significant amount of postings regarding self-mutilation, so i'd like to corral the thoughts. i am a cutter. and when i'm doing it i don't see anything wrong with it. not even when i think about how sad my parents would be if they knew. but i don't feel selfish, i feel selfless, like what i'm doing needed to be done by someone. people who know me think i'm happy, people who see me too. only my razor knows the difference.
Why do we do it? Why do we cut ourselves? Why even when we know there are other people worse off? I'm not asking for a solution or a cure, I'm asking for an answer. I don't even understand my own thoughts so I'm not expecting you to unravel them. I'm just asking why?

"It's times like this that make me sad I'm alive
Standing with a fool's fixed grin
Don't pretend you can't see my cry
It's not like I have crocodile skin"

First off, I am not a cutter and probably never will be. While I'm not great at sports and physical things, I am very strong mentally and am able to give up almost any bad habit without regret. I saw a show recently where a liscenced psychologist explained this: have you ever thought that maybe mental pain was just too much to grasp? Like it was floating there somewhere, but you couldn't harness it? Unlike physical pain, which heals quickly and is focused and direct, mental pain can hurt all parts of us but it may never completely go away. It might fade just enough to where all your life you feel that something is slightly wrong. For this reason, some people feel that causing themselves physical harm helps to focus their emotional pain into something they can control and will go away with time.
The only problem with this is that it DOESN'T get rid of the mental pain! It causes more trouble later in life by creating self-esteem problems and guilt. There is NO NEED to cut yourself! Mental pain can easily be repaired by solving the problem, or in other cases finding a strong good side to the issue. For instance, if a guy you really really like seems to like you and you ask him out, but he says no he hates you, then you will probably be very sad. It probably will seem like you can never be happy again. But there are many solutions: one- find a better guy (if the guy you liked said he hated you, then he's probably not worthwhile!) that likes you too, or just make friends with him. Two- think of the good that came from it (maybe the guy you liked smoked pot, and got arrested for it, and if you went out with him you both would have been in trouble). Three- find another SAFE way to focus your pain! Kick boxing is great for this.
These are just a few options, and I know you didn't want help or a cure, but you clearly need one since you don't know why this behavior is wrong! Why it is bad is that you are hurting your body, which could lead to infection and even more problems. And it doesnt really focus your pain, it just doubles it by adding physical pain on top of the mental one. If I were you I would talk to a school counselor or someone who can help. They won't punish you, and they won't even tell your parents if you don't want them to.
Remember, cutting is a sign of depression, or pent up feelings. Let it out with a harmless activity, like I said earlier kick boxing.
Sorry I typed so much just trying to help!

an' here are some quotes that might help:

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. ~unknown

Besides, Kar, at times, the greatest courage of all is to live. ~Larka

The secret cause of all suffering is mortality itself, which is the prime condition of life. It cannot be denied if life is to be affirmed. ~Joseph Campbell

When one door of happiness closes another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. WRITTEN BY: Helen Keller

Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good. -- Vaclav Havel

ya cut 'cause ya feel yer worlds out o' control an' cuttin's a way fer ya ta fell in control. same with bein' anorexic.

now that might not be the answer yer lookin for but its the truth. an' i cant always answer the question 'why?, hell i cant most o' the time but ya know someone else can an' thats jesus. now, like i said before, im no preacher, but ya have any more questions, email me at callme_fearless@dangerous-minds.com .
and mind you, i dont give out my email to everyone.