do people who cut themselves do it for attention

Based on the explanations we have offered, young people use NSSI to manage negative or empty feelings and to communicate suffering when they lack the ability to apply more effective solutions. Therefore, it makes sense that rates of self-injury are highest in those with troubling emotions, complex or stormy relationships, and poor coping skills. contemporarypediatrics.modernmedicine.com/contemporary-pediatrics/... The motives behind cutting are often counterintuitive. For an individual who does the behavior, cutting himself is how he makes himself feel better. Often, cutting is the only way he knows how to deal with negative emotions like depression, rage, guilt, emptiness and self-hatred, according to TeensHealth. Most people who inflict self-harm do so because they need relief from all the pent-up emotions they are experiencing. Like an addiction, these people are not in full control of their actions, but rather seek the intense relief they experience after cutting themselves. Cutters perceive that the action provides them with positive benefits. It allows them to express their feeling and feel in control. Cutting may distract them from difficult life events, relieve guilt as it can be used as a form of self-punishment, and for some cutters, make them feel more alive. www.interventionsupport.com/cutting-addiction Once people start cutting, they find that they cannot stop. They may say to themselves, "This is the last time, and then I won't do it again," or "I can always stop when I want to," or "I have control over this, I can stop whenever I want to." This is how teenage cutting becomes addictive. The person believes they have the control and can stop when they want to, but this is seldom the case. Starting to cut and feeling a strong urge to do it over and over again is compulsive behavior. It is habit forming and is fatal. Just like any other addiction, people who cut start associating the act of cutting with the temporary relief that they get. To make it clearer, think of people who are binge eaters. They know that compulsive overeating is bad for them - but over time, their minds begin to associate binge eating and the relief it provides them as a way to escape intense emotions or disturbing memories. Similarly, the minds of those who cut start making a connection between cutting and their childhood abuse to the temporary relief that cutting brings as a means of escape and false deliverance. This is one of the reasons that answers your question, "Why do people cut themselves?" 1.Some people cut to get 'relief' from pent up feelings. Cutting gives them a false sense of respite from their mental stress or emotional problems. 2.Cutting may give them a platform to express intense feelings such as depression, rejection, anger, betrayal or confusion. 3.Curiosity. There are some people who are led to cutting simply by curiosity. Ever heard the saying "Curiosity killed the cat"? Well, as much as curiosity can be a good thing, in this case, it does not lead to any benefit at all. At first, they may try out cutting as a harmless innocent thing, but this is addictive and compulsion to cut may cause life-threatening situations. As teens are in a stage of exploring and are more curious in that stage of life, they are more likely to indulge in dangerous habits such as smoking, drinking and self-injury through cutting. 4.Emotional abuse or physical abuse may cause some people to close off the outside world and become reclusive. In this state, they may resort to cutting. 5.Adding on to the above, many victims of emotional and physical abuse often feel 'unclean' and 'disgusted' with themselves that they cut themselves as a way of punishing themselves. Most such victims feel that it was their fault that some one physically or mentally abused them and so they punish themselves for their 'crime' by cutting or self-injuring themselves. 6.Self-hatred. Many people who cut themselves do not appreciate themselves or their bodies. They find themselves to be 'ugly' or 'fat', and in a desperate situation, they harm themselves by cutting, to get a quick fix for their problem. If they learn to love themselves, they wouldn't dream of deliberately harming themselves. 7.Too much pressure or stress can cause teenagers to resort to cutting. You would be surprised to know that many teens who cut themselves are actually honor students rehanastormme.hubpages.com " Family and Parenting Usually cutters will not reveal the true cause of their gashes. They fear that nobody will understand what they are going through and use self injury excuses like 'the dog/cat scratched me', 'I hurt myself while doing a task', etc. Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com... Because cutting and other means of self-harm tend to be taboo subjects, the people around you"and possibly even you"may harbor serious misconceptions about your motivations and state of mind. Don"t let these myths get in the way of getting help or helping someone you care about. Myth: People who cut and self-injure are trying to get attention. Fact: The painful truth is that people who self-harm generally do so in secret. They aren"t trying to manipulate others or draw attention to themselves. In fact, shame and fear can make it very difficult to come forward and ask for help. Myth: People who self-injure are crazy and/or dangerous. Fact: It is true that many people who self-harm suffer from anxiety, depression, or a previous trauma"just like millions of others in the general population. Self-injury is how they cope. Slapping them with a "crazy" or "dangerous" label isn"t accurate or helpful. Myth: People who self-injure want to die. Fact: Self-injurers usually do not want to die. When they self-harm, they are not trying to kill themselves"they are trying to cope with their pain. In fact, self-injury may be a way of helping themselves go on living. However, in the long-term, people who self-injure have a much higher risk of suicide, which is why it"s so important to seek help. Myth: If the wounds aren"t bad, it"s not that serious. Fact: The severity of a person"s wounds has very little to do with how much he or she may be suffering. Don"t assume that because the wounds or injuries are minor, there"s nothing to worry about. helpguide.org/mental/self_injury.htm All of the information above are just parts of my sources, (I would add more but, there isn"t enough space, I looked at the only sight you actually presented (Yahoo) and did found your countless sights that came up. All of them did say that NSSI was not productive, and I completely agree. But unfortunately for your argument we are not arguing whether or not cutting is productive, we are arguing whether or not MOST of those who cut are doing it for attention, or if they are doing it for other reasons. And there for we get to the dose cutting help, the cutting into your skin doesn"t help, but what goes on in the brain does. Endorphin does make you feel better when you cut, and it is like a drug, a drug that you use when you are feeling severe emotional pain. You asked "If actual people with problems are aware why would they still cut?" I believe that paragraphs 4-8 of this round would answer that, (rehanastormme.hubpages.com " Family and Parenting) So yes those who are having problems would continue to cut. To your story. Like I said your story tells of one person who may have lied, and in no way tells us that the majority of people that cut, do it for to manipulate others. I believe the reliable sources (at least better than au.answers.Yohoo.com A blog that people put their opinions on with no need to state their resources) above, as well as the 2 from round 2 are enough to argue the point that most people who do cut, don"t do it to get pity, or manipulate others. (Please feel free to checkout my sources.) And I would like you to state your sources, in case I missed any that can disprove my own.