Dark room,

trembling fingers,

clammy and sweaty.

slippery,

fumbling in a drawer,

I-need-it-no-I-can't-find-it-yes-I-have

found it.

cold and gleaming,

sharp, refined point,

making an entry into soft, downy silk

laced with ugly brown frets.

immediate relief edged in sharp, defining black.

bold and focused.

floating on clouds of pain.

The Red river's flowing,

little canyons and valleys

clouded by a thudding sensation,

that could be someone's heart.

---By Yue Lin, 'Cut'.

Why do people cut themselves? By this, I mean self-mutilation, and not accidental cutting. Why? I'm very curious.

Why would anyone want to hurt themselves, or cause injury to their own bodies? This I truly do not understand. Is it for the pleasure? But how can it be pleasure if it hurts? Or do some people just get some kind of sadistic satisfaction out of hurting themselves and seeing the blood ooze out of the cut?

Or is it just really low self-esteem?

Or maybe even an art form?

I don't know.

I honestly do not understand, and would like to. I would like to spend a day in someone else's head just to see what they're thinking of, and how they formulate their thoughts. Honestly. Why do people cut themselves? Is it just because you hurt so much you have to release the pain? Or are you just 'following the trend'?

Honestly though, I don't know why people cut themselves. Apart from those who see it as an art form.

If I were to have problems, I would not start self-mutilating. That does not solve anything, and does not accomplish anything, apart from, perhaps, a sense of satisfaction coming from the person. And by cutting, others will also start worrying about you, because they don't know what to expect of you anymore, if you're going to cut yourself over every little thing that happened in school or didn't go your way.

While I am not suggesting that these people are self-centred people, I'm just curious and concerned for people who self-mutilate.

Why?

If you think of cutting as a solution, it isn't. I know of many friends who cut themselves, and every time they say so, it hurts. It's as if, they couldn't trust me enough to confide in me, so they had to resort to an unfeeling blade instead. And that hurts. I feel for these people, but can't do a thing to help them. Perhaps cutting is a way of escape? Like drugs and alcohol? But have you ever thought about how your friends and family would feel if you cut too deeply one day, and bled out, and died?

Have you?

I'm not trying to shock anyone here, just voicing my thoughts.

Cutting isn't a solution, and I don't, and cannot see why people do it. When they do, they worry friends and family, and also injure themselves.

So, why?

Why do you self-mutilate?

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