The short explanation is that cutting is aimed at relieving otherwise unbearable emotions or sensations of unreality and numbness. Diagnosticaly cutting is considered a from of SMS or Self Mutilation Syndrome.² As a coping mechanism, cutting can become psychologically addictive because it works, enabling the cutter to deal with intense stress in the current moment. Some cutters also experience a high from endorphins released with the pain. The patterns sometimes created by it, such as specific time intervals between acts of self-injury, can also create a behavioral pattern that can result in a craving to fulfill thoughts of self-injury. Two popular misconceptions about cutting are that it is an attention seeking behavior or a suicide attempt. In truth it's seldom either, most people who self-injure are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and go to great lengths to conceal their behavior from others.

Self-injury has been statistically linked to other disorders; a person diagnosed with SMS is usually also placed in at least one other diagnostic catagory. Related conditions may be mood, anxiety or dissociation disorders with boderline personality disorder the co-diagnosis seen most frequently. The assumption that cutting/self-injury has its origins in childhood abuse is not supported by statistics. It has been shown that cutters come from both abusive and non-abusive family backgrounds. It should be mentioned that some cutters see what they do in a more positive light, as body-art, a path of shaimanic experience, a purification or a rite of passage. Control is core to most cutting.

The sight of one's own blood holds considerable significance for most cutters. Sanguins, blood-fetishists and cutters are all different things but it's not suprising to find some intermingling between these groups. Preliminary data from the psychological section of the Atlanta Vampire Research Project suggests that conditions such as depression, boderline personality disorder and other disorders associated with cutting are much more common among those who identify as members of the vampire community than the average population. A (small) number of cutters also like to consume the blood they draw. Some psychiatrists maintain cutting to be a preliminary step to auto-vampirism and/or clinical vampirism but needless to say this wouldn't apply to any but a minute percentage of cutters. The subject of self injury and cutting is too complex to be covered fully here. Anyone who feels its an issue for them or someone they care about is urged to read further and get professional help if needed. A set of links can be found at the bottom of this page.

"Seeing the blood is, overall, the most significant part of my cutting. Pain has been a constant in my life, as far as I can remember anyway. This constant manifests itself in blood. To shed the blood is to shed the pain and all of its evil little companions that have been plaguing me for the better half of my life."

"Self-injury isn't a failed suicide attempt and it isn't self-mutilation. Many of us self-injurers hate when people use the word self-mutilation towards us; it just sounds really bad to us. I want to make sure this gets across as a coping mechanism. It may not be one that outsiders (people who don't know about self-injury) would like, but it's a way we cope."

"I'm not trying to kill myself, and the chances of me "going too far" are slim to nil, so leave me alone."³

If you must cut, don't ever share cutting implements with anyone because they can transmit disease just as easily as sharing a needle can. All bloodborne pathogen protocols that apply to sanguins also apply to self-cutting. Keep cuts shallow and have first aid supplies on hand. Know what to do in the case of emergencies. Set limits. Don't allow yourself to over-do it. This will at least help you exert some control over your self-injury so hopefully you can see your way to quitting completely some time in the future.

PLEASE NOTE: The information provided is for informational and support purposes only. It's not intended as a substitute for seeking professional medical diagnosis and treatment.

1. Also known as Self-injury (SI) or Self-harm (SH)
2. From Stepanie in Self-injury: The significance of seeing the blood by Jan Sutton
3. Above quotes from Self-Injury: Dispelling the myths by Jan Sutton

LINKS and SOURCES

• For immediate help Call (USA) 1-800-DONT-CUT
  Provides information on dealing with self-abuse and self-mutilation and treatment options
  
• SARI
  Large informative site on self-injury and related issues
• Self Injury
  Very comprehensive, if you have a question, the answer is probably here.
• RecoverYourLife
  Recommended, good reading lists too
• Wiki/Self-harm
  Wikipedia
• Crying to Angels
  A personal site by Kit Sheridan
• Scar Tissue
  A self-injury, cutting and darque thought forum

Blacklight  07

 
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