They are emos, attention grabbers, or kids that suffer from abuse at home, etc. They're the stereotypes of cutters, the people that everyone assumes are the only ones who do it. In recent years some teen magazines have started addressing the topic; spurting out statistics and one line quotes from people. This doesn't cover it all; instead these magazines are confirming the already harmful stereotypes of self-injurers.
Those who cause harm to themselves do it in a variety of ways: punching themselves, burning, pinching, scratching, and probably the most well-known, cutting. They can be everyone from the prom queen to the straight-A student and while there are many who do it to attract attention from others those who are serious hide it from others. They don't want people to find out their ways.
I'm not just some random person that decided today's rant would be about cutting/self-injury. I'm someone who has to work everyday just to not slide the waiting blade across my wrist. But, I've stopped....for the most part. I hid it for two.5 years until I became careless and someone noticed. I couldn't cope with how the world that was spinning out of my control so cutting became my way to cope. I punished myself with it and in my mind I was using it to punish those who caused me anguish but I could do nothing about it. When my parents found out they assumed that since they knew I would stop-they were wrong, I just became better at hiding it and went on to continue until February 14, 2007 when I put down the blade for almost a year. Yeah, I know, I'm probably sounding like a whiny little attention seeker but I'm not trying to get people to "understand" or tell me how it's not something someone should do, that I don't deserve the "punishment, (or some poeple might think I deserve worse, who knows), I'm just trying to say this: it's anyone. I was a good student with plenty of friends and played lots of sports. I wasn't the typical stereotype, I was just in need of what self-injury provided me.
cutting: not the stereotype
By randomness - Posted on March 3rd, 2008
let me inform you that I don't think you sound like an attention seeker at all...you are right...people don't just do it for attention...for some people it's the only thing in their life they can be in control of...after hiding it for 5 years I stopped last may...no one really knew until I hit rock bottom...it's not about attention and I hate that kids do it for attention and that people stereotype it as attention seeking...you don't know if you haven't been there
Thanks, I totally know what you mean. I started wanting to write something like this a couple of days ago when I saw some girl showin off her "cuts" to her friend whining about how she has to go to a therapist and how her anitdepressants just make her so "happy". I just wanted to slap her... but my friends persuaded me that a suspension wasn't worth it.
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i am who i am, no excuses, but i would like people to know that there is a lot more to me than just that girl they pass in the hallway without a fleeting glance
That's really sad and I'm sorry you've gone through that. However, I think that it is important to be aware of common signs of self injury so that those who do it may be helped. I noticed that you said that it allowed you to feel in control of your life, and I know that a common reason for cutting is a way of getting one's control back, so those who may feel like their life is out of their control may result to self injury.
I completely agree. In recent years there's more awareness about SI and more help available, but the amount of ignorance about it is still shocking. I started SIing when I was twelve and stopped (at least, for now, I cannot truly say I stopped because I still struggle not to and it's pretty likely that at some point I will again, at least once or twice) about two months ago, at age eighteen. It was extremely severe, to the point where I was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for months, nearly killed myself by cutting too deep more times than I can count, needed stitches more times than I can count, etc.
I successfully hid it for two years, even though it was really, really bad (to the point where it shocked doctors) when I was fourteen. I absolutely did NOT want attention in the least! I refused to believe that I needed help - I thought that if I told my parents that I was cutting, they would be hurt and upset and blame themselves, and it would just hurt them for no good reason. I eventually told my parents (at that point I was suicidal) because my close online friends convinced me I needed to seek help.
I lost one of my best friends because she thought that because I cut, I must be a violent psychotic person who wants to hurt others - which is bullshit, I don't even defend myself if someone's beating me up, I never get angry and I forgive in an instant even the worst offenses. I've lost a lot of friends because I was so messed up and because I was hurting myself so badly and they couldn't stand to watch me basically slowly kill myself, or watch me risk death every day by cutting. I absolutely could not stop. It's actually physically addictive because your body gains a tolerance to the endorphins. x.x I started with "just" scratches (which can affect someone just as badly, emotionally, and are a symptom of a serious problem) but ended up nearly killing myself. Why would anyone choose to be like that? x.x
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Please see my recent blog post, "Genocide and Student Activism": http://www.progressiveu.org/041447-genocide-and-student-activism
talk about hitting the nail on the head...that's b/c most SIers don't choose it...it's something to control and the answer to "fixing" what's wrong...it becomes people...overtakes them... people don't often choose it.
Exactly... but sadly, most people, including professionals, don't realize it.