Having dealt with major depression a long time in my life, I've resorted to cutting instead of finding my relief in the various drugs I've been using. I love the feeling of pain and everything associated with it, so much that I can't stop.

I quit doing marijuana, LSD, MDMA, and a few other almost harmless drugs just for this. A big part of it was the cost, and the fact that I almost missed being sober. When I cut, everything becomes so much more real, not so much like a dream I get from smoking and eating things, but rather that I feel more alive. If I quit cutting, I fear I'll just become all numb both physically and emotionally, and totally forget reality.

So I want your opinion, should I stop cutting? And why?

Yes, you should quit cutting. It's a mental issue and you should tell someone you trust so they can help you. I've heard that when trying to stop cutting, wearing a rubber band around your wrist can help. You can pop it when you want to cut to distract yourself, then slowly you'll stop depending on it. Good luck!

I started cutting about 8 months ago from an anxiety disorder. . .or rather I dabbled with it.
As soon as I got anxious cutting is wha I'd resort to.
But I quit.
I don't know if I'll go back to it, but it really is bad for you.
It makes you sick in the mind.
And, no, that isn't a knock against you or anyone else who does it , or even against meh.
It is simply the truth that I have to accept and you should consider accepting it to =)
Love,
-aLy-

Yes, you should stop. It's not a healthy habbit. And there are other ways to releive your feelings like talking about them to someone you trust, and praying.

You're asking us if you should stop cutting?

Drugs, cutting, sounds like you need some tough love. So, cut the crap, stop dealing with your problems by poisoning/mutilating yourself, and get your life on track.

Yes, you should stop. What about purposefully causing yourself pain to make yourself feel better seems healthy to you? If you're afraid of becoming numb and losing reality, it might be time to get some help. You need to find some kind of creative outlet to replace all the drugs and cutting. It won't do you any good to quit if you aren't doing anything else. Keep yourself busy, start discovering new interests that can steer you away from all the addictions. Start taking control of your own life.

Perhaps you need to look at your pain in a different way. Most definitely, dear one, you need to act in a different manner with God's assistance. He does not want you to inflict this on yourself.

I read this last pm and it meant something to me as I suffer at times too in other ways. Maybe it will mean something to you too:

"Don't complain if you suffer. It is the prized and valued stone that is polished.

Does it hurt? Allow yourself to be cut*, gratefully, because God has taken you in His hands as if you were a diamond. An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that."--St Josemaria Escriva on Suffering The Furrow

*meditate on this...in what ways are you being cut by life that you are trying to relieve on your own?

Prayers to you hurting one
Mrs P

hi josh.

yes, i am sure you should stop cutting.

i think it's a horrible thing. and everybody gives all kinds of crap about what they do with themselves doesn't affect other people, whatever it may be, and i hope that's not you. my brother was cutting for a while, and i hated it. i had nightmares about him hurting himself and i worried a lot about him. several times i honestly thought he might do something worse. it's really rough for me becuz i don't have a close relationship with him, and i don't always know how he's doing. it hurts to even think about and honestly it took me awhile to get the nerve to reply to this topic.

my exgirlfriend was also cutting for a while. and that really killed me. and for a while, it sounds awful but i blamed myself. i told myself it was my fault that she hurt herself even when she didn't want to. and it's a similar situation as my brother, i loved her very much and i knew she was hurting. but this time it was my fault. and now i don't see her anymore, and i don't know if she's been cutting or not. but a lot time i worry about how she's doing. i can feel it when they hurt, and i hate it and wish it was gone.

my point is people care about you and god cares about you, and it hurts us to know that you hurt. even if you think it's not bad for you, i think the truth is that there's a deeper issue and that it can't be good for you. you are meant for something different than hurt. i don't think your focus shouldn't be on escaping reality or escaping the truth. i think god wants truth in your life and wants you to be loving to others instead doing whatever makes you feel good. i think our lives about pleasing god, but maybe that's not what you believe. i don't know. but there are endless stories of hope that are meant for you and a better life for you. but you gotta take a step in the right direction, ask for help, and see if god has been waiting to bring you to something better.

you can talk to me or ask me anything if you'd like. or ignore or tell me to shut up. but i hope you do alright.

dmlive.com has an awesome blog series on cutting, its effects etc.

1st Corinthians 6:18-20 (KJV)

18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19) What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Fornication is anything that hurts your body: smoking, drugs, drinking, sex before marriage, tatoos (Leviticus 19:28), and definately cutting. You are defiling your body, which if you are saved is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Satan is telling you that you need to keep cutting, that it is the only thing keeping you tied to reality, that you will live in a dream world without it. Well really my friend, Satan has you in a dream world telling you that this is the answer to your depression. Its a lie. You came asking us what we thought about it. That shows me that you are confused about it all. The Bible says: "God is not the author of confusion." You also stated that you were afraid that if you stopped you would lose touch with reality. The Bible also says, "God hath not given us a spirit of fear." My church youth group recently went to a play called Lucifer's Lies. It exposed a situation much like yours, in which Lucifer (Satan in case you dont know) drove a boy strung out on drugs, alchohol, and cutting to commit suicide, when he had several oppurotunities to except Christ and get the love, help, and contentment that he desperately desired. Try the rubber band trick stated in a previous post, get help from a Christian counselar, get involved in a local, Bible believing church, & turn this over to God. The Bible says "Submit yourselves therefore unto God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you." Realize that you cant quit by yourself, that you have to be willing to turn it over to God and walk away, and remember that drinking and drugs are not the answer. You arent going thru something that someone else hasnt already been delivered from. Talk to parents, a pastor or youth pastor, a trusted friend who gives good, Christian advice, or someone that is certified to help you. And, most importantly, get saved if you arent already. Together you and God can kick this habit. i will b praying for you.

Josh, I wish I could help you, but I would be being a huge hypocrite if I were to preach about cutting. I've been a cutter for years along with other addictions (anorexia, bulimia) and so I understand how you feel. I don't completely understand, because every situation is different. I hope something does work out for you for the better though. You're in my prayers.
~Dee

...eating sugary foods, running, not washing your hands before a meal, reading in dim light, getting insufficient vitamins, donating blood, donating organs, circumcision, living in a city with all its pollutants, having an accident of any kind, being in close proximity to people with infectious illnesses...


Wow. And here I thought "fornication" just meant having sex out of wedlock! Turns out it's almost impossible to avoid!

You need to see a psychologist tbh. I've been through two rounds of Depression, a major one the first time, a lesser one the second time. If you don't get help your Depression is going to keep occurring and its going to get worse. Get some consoling either through a church or school if you don't have the finances to go to a psychologist cause they will help you for free. Seeing Counselors is also a great way to deal with stress or just to have someone to talk to things about. Heck you can talk to them about girls, or boy if you want to.

While they may be good for talking to, counselors don't always help. Never helped me. Rehab didn't even help me. What do you suggest for me, then?
~Dee

The question in that situation is how long have to been receiving therapy or rehab? Did you leave prematurely? Did you like the Doctor or Counselor?

Sometimes it takes years to reverse certain things, other times it depends on who you're receive treatment from. I've had bad psychologists and I just had to switch cause they were no help. Medication is a large help to. I'm probably going to be on Anti-Depressant for a good half a decade more before I can get off it (I've been on it for 6 years already).

Also some Eastern Medicine practices might help SOME people as well. I know personally acupuncture works for me, but it doesn't work for everyone.