How many of you self-harm?

I feel like self-harming, maybe someone here could help me out? I know these thoughts are wrong, but they just keep popping up in my head and to be honest, they're kind of scaring me...

I do..but I haven't been doing it much since a few months. Surely, I scratch myself when I'm really upset to the point where it shows blood marks, but no pencil sharpener blades. I honestly don't regret cutting in the first place, since it actually did help me a lot.

As nic points out, there are other ways to cope with feelings, rather than self-harming. It's hard to believe that attacking your own body can be of any help.

I self harmed for 5 years up until Dec 2011, started with blades and lighters and moved on to overdoses. I don't regret it as such because it's made me such an incredibly strong person and given me this new motivation and determination to get to where I want to be though I am embarrassed of the scars I now have and regretful of the pain I caused my family. I managed to stop on my own after a particularly bad 3 months when I was in hospital constantly and visits were only a few hours to a couple days apart, the pills were really taking their toll on my liver and kidneys and I just thought what am I even doing. I just realised what I was doing to myself and my incredible family. Please get help asap if you self harm, I know from experience that was the last thing I wanted to hear and just irritated me but one day you're going to recover from this and you're going to want to wear a swimming costume when you play with your kids or when you're on honeymoon with your spouse and just think how you will explain those scars then and how they will make you feel, I dont have a partner and kids yet but trust me everytime someone says something about my scars or they look at them knowingly it makes me feel like crap again and puts me right back where I used to be mentally.

I don't agree with you MailFlower. I still cut and I want to stop but right now I can't. I won't be ashamed of my cuts. My partner already knows I cut. My kids will one day understand what made me do this. I won't be ashamed of my way of coping with pain and stuff that happened/happens. I don't care if people stare - stare all you want. It's my body, my life.

Maybe it's different when you're older and already have a family around you but i've experienced it from both sides; as the child of a cutter and a self harmer myself. Im not saying it's the same for everyone but both experiencing and imagining those kind of convos were motivational for myself and others in my support group in trying to stop. My self esteems pretty crappy aswell and I worry a lot about what others think of me, I wish I could just be like you and not care! So maybe it's more my head than other people but it still helped. Hope you get to where you want to be :)

It started as curiosity. All my friends did it, but they never explained why. I really wish they had, because then I wouldn't have been tempted. I started on my thighs, just carving out initials and stuff that had meaning for me. It was really shallow - no blood. Then, I ACTUALLY tried it, the whole blade to skin, blood everywhere thing. But that didn't work for me. Blood doesn't work for me. I totally freaked out and I went crazy and I had to call my mom to calm down again. How lame am I, huh? The cutter who had to call her mom. Promised her I'd never do it again. Technically I've kept my word. Now I scratch at my wrist, which creates the same sort of marks as some cuts. I don't do it because I want attention, I never actually thought about someone else seeing them, I do it when words fail me. When I need to express something but I'm at a loss as to how. And when I start freaking out, just in a whirl of depression, I spike myself with a pin or something, just to see blood, and I snap out of it. It clears my head a little... It terrifies me because I don't want to be like this. I feel weak. I used to say I'd never try it and now look at me. It's not a fun experience, and it's not good for you emotionally. I'd recommend never trying it yourself. I try drawing on the other side of my wrist whenever I feel like self-harming.

I did for 3 years. But my friends got scared for my life at one point and forced me to stop. I don't advise it. Stop while you can.

once you do thats the first thing your brain thinks to do whenever your upset.