There are better ways to deal with troubles than cutting — healthier, long-lasting ways that don't leave a person with emotional and physical scars. The first step is to get help with the troubles that led to the cutting in the first place. Here are some ideas for doing that: 1. Tell someone. People who have stopped cutting often say the first step is the hardest — admitting to or talking about cutting. But they also say that after they open up about it, they often feel a great sense of relief. Choose someone you trust to talk to at first (a parent, school counselor, teacher, coach, doctor, or nurse). If it's too difficult to bring up the topic in person, write a note. 2. Identify the trouble that's triggering the cutting. Cutting is a way of reacting to emotional tension or pain. Try to figure out what feelings or situations are causing you to cut. Is it anger? Pressure to be perfect? Relationship trouble? A painful loss or trauma? Mean criticism or mistreatment? Identify the trouble you're having, then tell someone about it. Many people have trouble figuring this part out on their own. This is where a mental health professional can be helpful. 3. Ask for help. Tell someone that you want help dealing with your troubles and the cutting. If the person you ask doesn't help you get the assistance you need, ask someone else. Sometimes adults try to downplay the problems teens have or think they're just a phase. If you get the feeling this is happening to you, find another adult (such as a school counselor or nurse) who can make your case for you. 4. Work on it. Most people with deep emotional pain or distress need to work with a counselor or mental health professional to sort through strong feelings, heal past hurts, and to learn better ways to cope with life's stresses. One way to find a therapist or counselor is to ask at your doctor's office, at school, or at a mental health clinic in your community. Although cutting can be a difficult pattern to break, it is possible. Getting professional help to overcome the problem doesn't mean that a person is weak or crazy. Therapists and counselors are trained to help people discover inner strengths that help them heal. These inner strengths can then be used to cope with life's other problems in a healthy way.

i used to cut myself and its a very tricky route to go down, its addictive and it gets worse and worse. i started with a bit of broken mirror/glass which only scratched the skin which soon wasnt enough for me so i went on the sharpener blades and each cut i did got worse and worse untill 1 day i scared myself i cut my hip (i was really skinny) i could just about see the bone and it bled for 2 weeks at least (while i was on holiday) i am now left with horrible scars a lot of regret and a lot of shame when i started i did it out of pure frustration and anger there is no thinking ahead involved if you are ok enough to ask about it then you do not 'need' to do it. its a rash sudden thing if you really do 'need' to hurt yourself then let me suggest this, put an elastic band around your wrist and ping it when your upset or angry, it will sting but will not pierce the skin or scar or put a fresh ice cube on your arm/leg again this will hurt for a while to give you the 'calm down' but will not leave a mark i'm not saying its right to do but this is better then cutting yourself i know you do not want to hear this but please see a doctor, he/she WILL help you to get the help you need and if he doesnt see someone else, i wish i did before it was too late i cut myself everyday for about 4 years and carried on irregually for the next 2 years and have been 'on the wagon' for 2 years. i wish id gotten help as it got out of control. i realise now there is more better ways to deal with things good luck

try cutting words. if your gonna do this, you may as well make it into art. people in africa do this and its normal, so it is only wrong here.

You should take up martial arts. It's a great way to work off anger/hurt. Clears the mind at the same time as being physically demanding and releases tension. Damaging your self isn't something you can undo and you will surely regret it later.

There is NO CORRECT WAY TO CUT YOURSELF. You should talk with a doctor.

Hi my name is Freya,i cut myself because i have the same problem but my bff4l told me to stop so i did but the correct way is to use a knife on ur arm it is better well write back to me

Make sure you have your glasses on when you do it.

If you want to feel pain... You can also feel pain by doing exercise, + it relieves stress and it's good for your health.

i say thighs, you will not die but you will bleed. but take it from some one that still cuts, don't start you will find that it is the only thing that you will turn to when things start to get hard. and once you start it is just to hard to quit. the only thing that i have found that helps is getting pierced. the pain is there and it take a long time to go away. and you have a pretty barbell there.

I've cut since I was in 8th grade. I'm not halfway through my high school senior year. It's addictive, but as of now, I don't regret starting, only because it's the only thing I have to hold onto. If you don't want people to see them, then do it on oyur stomach or thighs. It hurts way more there, but people won't see it. Your ankles are good places, too, if you wear pants all the time. I cut all the way up and down my left arm with scissors or a sharp knife (sharp knives work wonders, but only if you've been doing it for a while and KNOW what you're doing and how not to cut too deep, you you NEED to know your own strength and everything, first. So stick with thumbtacks and scissors for now until you've been doing it for a while.) You can e-mail me at rainbowman11805@aim.com if you want to talk about it. I don't judge. It's also my screen name, so feel free to talk to me. :-)

Wow.

can anybody explain why some people want to cut themselves ?? i just cant see the point , thank u

Juggler? This cutting stuff is just so ridicules. If anyone gives you advice to help you then they need to cut the juggler.

u need to: 1. get a blade that is sharp 2. put the blade in your wrist 3. close your eyes if u get scared(u can also bite on something soft) 4. slide the blade across ur arm fast 5. watch the blood run down ur arm 6. feel the pain go away and the "high" come this is the guide i started with...i now have at least 100 cuts..it gets easier to do the more u do it

I am not going to talk you out of this because I have no right to. To answer your question the best thing to do is stay away from the area on your wrist, ankles, or anywhere else that you can feel or see veins. On the underside of your wrist I would say about two inches down from your hand would be far enough. If you don't want to kill yourself then I would suggest not cutting to deep. The best thing to use for pain is the cutting edge of a packing tape roll. This may result in light scaring.If you feel release at the sight of blood then a SHARP blade will be better. Make sure it is sharp or it feels like you are sawing at your skin. That is my advise if you really need the release, but think real hard befor you do anything.

theres a riddle for it i think it goes, 'cross the road nurses called, down the lane to your grave' just be sure you really want to do it, because scars are for ever, and they dont look good, nore is it fun if you have a little kid ask you where your "owies" are from, dont even try the cat story cause that will just make the kid terrified of cats and the kid shouldnt be affraid of any animals because you decide to cut yourself and lie about it.

Tie a bandana around your arm to help decrease the amount of blood flowing, this helps if you accidently cut a vein, because you won't bleed to death, also if you have a gf try cutting their initials into your arm, it helps you feel better if you ever go back to cutting or even helps you quit, i've cut but quit, im not going to make you change your mind because i can understand at this point it's to late,

I had a gf back in the day I loved too much, and had to leave her cause her dad would hurt her and shed cut, but she couldnt quit cutting when he quit hurting her.

what is this, you have to much to handle so you are going to add pain to the mix? how does that even help, when i get really angry or frustrated i sometimes hit objects, the blast of pain is always like gasoline on the fire, i get more angry, more frustrated and also feel stupid for causing the extra pain to boot. i don't understand this cutting behavior at all.

i really feel your pain and i ask myself whats the point of life alot....i just set the blade on my arm and press but not to hard just to scrape the skin...unless you want to o deeper and die...it hurts i kno but the cuting is only a temporary fix...it dosent make ur pain go away u just forget for a while

When I cut myself I feel a certain calm come over me. I like seeing the blood squirt out of the vein that I have successfully accessed. I no longer feel hunger and I'd like to lose weight. I cut myself 15 years ago when my husband cheating on me, was emotionally abusive, and in my extreme low self-esteem I thought I deserved his negative abusive paroles. Recently (15 years later) I feel a similar pain. I am 40 pounds overweight. I am so sad, angry, disappointed and bereft. The cutting, the dripping blood in the bath tub brings some relief. I can handle the physical pain rather than the emotional. I truly don't want to kill myself...just perhaps punish myself for my poor choices in male partners. For today, I feel that I'd like to cut every other day or so...lessen my eating, lose weight and have the illusion of feeling powerful which I cam clear is a motivating factor. I am an alcoholic and feel cutting is the lesser of two evils. I don't want to go too far. I use a rubber band to pump up the vein in my wrist and use a straight edge razor....We'll see....not too sure if I will tell my therapist. I think I am functioning okay, for today. Why makes me a bit distressed in that most of all the research and documentation is primarily focused only on adolescents...how many adult women and men cut? I don't have a lot of scars because I chose my veins carefully. I also would like to know how to cut witout killing...

Take a pair of scissors and snip off about an inch of your hair.

Cut horizontally, not vertically. If you do it vertically, then it only slices the vein up more - that's how you cut when you want to kill yourself. If you just want to feel pain, go horizontally (left and right.) Basically, just don't cut with the vein, go against it. I know I can't talk you out of it....but there are definitely better solutions and if you ever need someone to talk to, you can email me anytime. I'd be happy to chat with you.

First of all, how old are you? Chances are you are experiencing things that MANY people have experienced before in the past. Cutting may make you feel better for the time being, but it's not going to make things better in the long run. Instead of being destructive, why don't you try something constructive to channel your negative emotions? Turn your anger/sorrow into a book, a song, an exercise. There are a lot of people on here suggesting constructive activities that will benefit you alot more in the long run than just getting yourself involved with a cycle of cutting.

Hmmm.... Maybe not do it on your wrist....somewhere a little more fattier...like your leg....but do it lightly, just enough to break the skin and give you a release, I guess. ?_?

cut the side of your arm, and not the wrists, sounds a little obvious i know..., cut superficially, dont go deep if you dont know wht you are doing. use a razor without taking the guards off to cut superficially. make small cuts and not long hard ones - its very hard to go deep with the guards on. when i go deep, i usually put the razor into a cut i've already made and slice two or three more times, if you leave the guards on, you cannot do this. use a double blade razor, its much easier to cut deeper with a single blade. use disposables, have clean cloths ready to mop the blood and use a cream after to stop the cuts sticking to the dressings as they heal. i know this will offend some, but i am answering as a cutter to someone who wants advice on how to cut..

One thing that I think is better than cutting, because if you do it wrong, you might be fucked. Lick you underside of your forearm, then put salt on it, then hold an ice cube over the spot with the salt and spit. It feels really good! Otherwise, just get a sharp knife and make it as sharp as possible and use your anger on your arm, cut horizontaly, otherwise you make the lasoration bigger on your vein,arteries, and that will be a big mess, especaily for the EMT...

Well, you can 1st ask around for others who're just as weak, spoiled & selfish, and then read what you can on the topic, maybe in the public library's "Pathetic Loser" section. Then I suppose you'd wanna start small, taking your time so you can get a great rush of self-sorrow goin'. Stick with ridiculously ineffective instruments initially, like paperclips, single staples and/or plastic combs. Then move up to dull butter knives. *Make sure* you bum out and worry as many family members and friends as you can, calling them at all hours then instantly ignoring every helpful suggestion made (think: "Yes, but..."). After this preparation, sometimes unnecessarily wasting years of youth, go ahead and pull your head just a little bit outta your ass to realize that you're being a self-centered prick and decide to move on to the rather more tangible benefits of living, such as gainful employment, satisfying interpersonal relationships and maybe a few entertaining material possessions toward the laudable goal of a full, grateful life. Give more than you take! Good luck! ;-)

Get a damn marker, draw a line and some blood and get the hell over that dumbshit. I don't get that cutting stuff. Oooooh you hurt yourself, that makes it better, that will show them? +4

down towards your elbow

Well I suppose that is logical and wise? You have too much to handle so your going to add another big problem of self mutilation that turns into an addiction on top of that and have to deal with ugly scars for the rest of your life. Why doesnt everyone think of this when problems in life arise. But I see the big issue here you are facing is you do not know how to cut yourself. I suppose that is to much to handle at times.

try on the back of your wrists near the knucles, the main arteries are located on the side of your hand where the palm is. USE SOMETHING SHARP E.G. A KNIFE OR SCISSORS. THE EASIEST WAY IS TO CUT SLOWLY IT HURTS MORE BUT YOU CAN STOP IF THE WOUND GETS TOO BAD, WHICH COULD HAPPEN IF YOU CUT FAST.

why would you want to cut your self? There are better ways to hurt your self. Punch a brick wall it usually helps. But if you want to cut yourself without dying make sure you avoid the arteries. Try cutting over the fingers.

Ok, per your request I won't talk you out of it. Nonetheless most suicide attempts are unsuccessful and leave permanent scars. Likewise for dramas in which people attempt self-mutilation in order to create the appearance of suicide attempts when they want attention. At some point you will be over whatever you perceive as your problems. You will want to do things like get a job, or get a better job, and/or maybe integrate into things like a community or a family. Imagine carrying on with such indelible scars from doing something stupid back in your stupid days.

Snore. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Snore. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is the only thing you ever asked here -- must not have liked the answers. Don't be stupid.

well i cut myself and i do it up and down doing it across will slit ur vain and ur dead :( so i do it up and down just wehn i feel angry and my mom never feels like hearing me speak my feelings and walks away! i dont wanna kill my mom becuz she was very sick at a time and i dont wanna stress her out and make her stop eating again so i just cut 2 find some peace