Cutting

Wrists being bandagedCutting is the most common form of deliberate self-harm, and may co-occur with other self-injurious behaviors such as skin-burning, hair-pulling, and anorexia. People who cut themselves may cut their skin with razors, pointed metal, or other sharp objects. Cutting is not typically an attempt at suicide or long-term self-harm. Rather, it is an immediate reaction to stress that provides release for the person who cuts. However, chronic cutting can lead to serious health problems such as infection, disease transmission, and blood loss. People who cut themselves may accidentally sever a vein or artery, which can be life-threatening.

Is Cutting a Mental Illness?

Cutting is not listed in the DSM-IV as a mental health diagnosis, but it may be related to other impulse control conditions such as pyromania (obsession with fires), kleptomania (persistent stealing), and/or pathological gambling. The DSM-IV lists self-injurious behavior as a symptom of stereotypic movement disorder, which is often diagnosed along with autism and mental retardation. Self-harm can also be a symptom of borderline personality (BPD) as well as factitious disorders, which occur when a person fakes an illness or believes he/she has an illness he/she does not actually have. People who cut themselves may also suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other stress-related conditions. Cutting is more prevalent among women, particularly during puberty.

Non-suicidal self-injury is a proposed mental health diagnosis for the forthcoming DSM-V. The proposal for this diagnosis requires at least two of the following symptoms:

  • Interpersonal or other stress that precipitates the self-injurious behavior
  • A strong urge to harm oneself and a preoccupation with self-harm prior to the act
  • Frequent thoughts of self-injury
  • Engaging in self-harm to relieve stress
  • The belief that self-harm relieves psychological pain

Treatment to Stop Cutting

Outpatient therapy using a variety of methods, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, can be highly effective at teaching people more effective skills for coping with stress. However, cutting is a behavior that tends to escalate to more severe and more frequent cutting over time. People who have been cutting for an extended period of time may require inpatient treatment. Inpatient treatment ensures that the person who cuts cannot harm his or herself. Inpatient treatment generally also provides group therapy, individual therapy, and, when necessary, psychotropic medication to help mitigate the psychological factors that contribute to cutting.

References:

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (2012, May 1). American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Proposed Revision: Non-Suicidal Self Injury. Retrieved from http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=443
  2. Davis, J. L. (n.d.). Cutting & Self-Harm: Warning Signs and Treatment. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/cutting-self-harm-signs-treatment.

Last Updated: 03-20-2018

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  • akyah

    October 22nd, 2014 at 6:27 AM

    i wanna stop cutting but i dont know how my mom wants it to stop but i cant its to hard and my brothers and sisters say i do it cuz i want atetoin

  • DML

    November 2nd, 2014 at 8:06 PM

    I am not sure of your situation. My daughter did the same thing as a parent it is scary. Your doing nothing wrong. You just need help to develop the tools to deal with the real underlying issues. My daughter went to therapy to help identify what was causing her to feel so helpless. Let me know if I can help and I would also be willing to talk to your mom ans share my experiences. I hope it helps.

  • yuuki

    February 7th, 2017 at 8:14 AM

    I don’t think I’m depressed and I’ve never had any traumatic experience but after my exams I had this urge to cut myself. I guess it was out of curiosity. Afterwards I ended up getting that urge again and again and I ended up doing it again. I don’t understand why.

  • Anominus

    May 7th, 2017 at 1:48 PM

    I have been cutting for two years now theire r some moths we’re I cut daily it’s been going on for a long time now yet I’m still to scared to get help

  • The GoodTherapy.org Team

    May 7th, 2017 at 8:07 PM

    Thank you for your comment, Anominus. We wanted to provide links to some resources that may be relevant to you here. We have more information about self harm at https://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-for-self-harm.html and additional information about what to do in a crisis at https://www.goodtherapy.org/in-crisis.html

    Warm regards,
    The GoodTherapy.org Team

  • Alexandra G.

    May 18th, 2019 at 7:47 PM

    I don’t blame you I’m not scared to get help I don’t want to get help for my problem I think my arm is beautiful with all those cuts but it’s really not it’s not normal to think that I haven’t cut in awhile I hope I don’t start again
    I have been having the urge lately I like emailing people who can relate to me like you when I get help it fails LoL

  • dianna

    April 21st, 2018 at 11:41 PM

    i used to be a cutter. at one point in my cutting i was actually sewing up my cuts. i don’t know how i stopped. i am in my 50’s now and i did this as a teen and also in my 30s.
    recently i have started picking. i had some scrapes and picked at them until i had to have surgery and the abscesses i had caused drained.
    they sent me to a wound clinic after and i can tell that the people working there are disgusted by what i did to myself.
    i kept doing it because i had no idea how skin healing worked. i was thinking the little white things in my wounds and around the edges should not be there. i would pick them out and then they would bleed a lot. it got so bad i was cutting off pieces of flesh and throwing away paper towels full of blood.
    finally my boyfriend saw one of my wounds that had become infected and called ems. so i ended up in hospital and now wound clinic.
    if you feel like cutting or picking at your skin for any reason, tell someone first. see how they react. it rapidly become embarrassing and ugly and it made me sick with infection.
    i thought i had stopped but i just changed my method.

  • Ash

    October 9th, 2018 at 5:09 PM

    The strangest thing is ive always self harmed when i was little i picked at any wounds I had id cut open blisters or pick them open and by the time i was in grade 8 i was cutting. I recently relapsed and i think it may be because i didnt actually think about what i do with my blisters and scabs is selfharm its just made me chase that high floating feeling. The only upside is due to my intense anxiety i have never gotten even close to getting an infected wound i used to use antibacterial products on them if i thought they might get infected but ive gotten better at judging that and ensuring that if i do selfharm nothing i use while get me sick.

  • Yuuki

    October 14th, 2018 at 8:57 PM

    Same here. When I was little I kept thinking that the middle of my upper lip was too pointed. I don’t know why I didn’t have any friends at school and maybe I just wanted to fit in so I started biting my upper lip. Later onwards it turned into a habit. Not just my upper lip but my bottom lip as well. I’d just bite it so much that it would bleed and I liked it. I’m trying to control it but nope. It’s still a habit. And I still tend to pick at any scabs or scratches a get. I mean you see a lot of kids picking at wounds and stuff. It sort of makes you wonder if it’s normal to self harm when you’re small.

  • Charlotte

    February 21st, 2023 at 5:30 PM

    i wish my mind would say something other than i m so sorry. Recently my senior neighbour showed me cuts , i only had a couple pale scratches across my wrist and i decided it was stupid and stopped. i get abuses , i know that world. We re all hoping for a better distribution of resources in the future. A system better balanced. i took yoga. It helped like i enjoyed it and passionate arobics to Dire Straits and even started College class at 50 crying much of the time.
    It helps to try something. Because of my yoga i met a body builder and together we juiced as in health and bike riding and both quit smoking. i did these things rather than be a zombie on any medications and some fun was had but it’s not easy to totally recover. big big hugs.

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