D.S.
Injuring yourself on purpose by making scratches or cuts on your body with a sharp object — enough to break the skin and make it bleed — is called cutting. Cutting is a type of self-injury, or SI. Cutting is more common among girls, but guys sometimes self-injure, too. People may cut themselves on their wrists, arms, legs, or bellies. Some people self-injure by burning their skin with the end of a cigarette or lighted match.
When cuts or burns heal, they often leave scars or marks. People who injure themselves usually hide the cuts and marks and sometimes no one else knows.
Self-injury is not new. It's also not a very common behavior. But lately people are talking about it more. As guys and girls hear about cutting, they may feel curious about it and why people do it. Because it seems a little bit forbidden, some younger teens may think that cutting might make them seem daring, grown up, or popular.
With all the talk about it, cutting can almost seem like the latest fad. But cutting is a serious problem.
I cut and pasted that from kids health. My younger sister did it for a few years. The way she explained it to me was that she was just so full of so many emotions that cutting herself made her feel like air was being let out of a balloon inside of her. She got on an anti anxiety medication and started seeing a therapist every week. She is doing much better. It is a very serious problem, which could one day lead to suicide.
