Is it true that people who cut do it only for attention?

[calgary01]

Or is it even possible to cut just for attention? I just cut for the first time. i dont even know why. but i dont think i did it for attention. i mean i'd die if anybody saw. :/ i'm confused...

[Palmolive]

Hey there.

I personally honestly think there are many reasons to why people self harm. Every single self harmer is different with their own thoughts and feelings as well as their own reasons to why they self harm.

Yes, perhaps there are some people who do it for attention, perhaps some people do it because they are bored, perhaps some people do it when they get upset, perhaps some people do it because they're going through a rough time or they're just feeling low. There are so many different reasons and not everyone does it for the same.

If you don't think you are doing it for attention perhaps you need to think about anything that happened in the few hours before you self harmed and what you were thinking at the time to see if you can the trigger.

I really hope you're okay.
Jessie.

[Thirteen]

As Jessie said, everyone has their reasons, and some people DO self-harm for attention.

I knew a guy in high school, who was a poser-Goth. He'd dress in all black, and he'd give himself these little scratches on his arms somehow (by safety pin, or cat, or whatever, I don't know), then he'd basically show his arms to people. He literally DID pull up his fishnet shirt one time to show somebody in our class his scratches. It'd either be t-shirts or t-shirts with a fishnet shirt underneath. He ended up growing out of all that, once he stopped trying too hard to be a cliche Goth kid. He stopped scratching himself and everything.

BUT, to be fair, that isn't a common scenario. I have a history of self-harm, and I know a couple other people who do too, and although they're clean now, and they don't even have a lot of scars (one only tried it once, the other girl had briefly used self-harm to solve problems), but even then, they try not to draw attention to their arms. They don't avoid wearing short sleeves or anything, since the marks aren't obvious, but they don't exactly show people either, or make it a point to make it obvious. You know?

Self-harm is a bad habit to get in to, and I doubt you're looking for attention if you DON'T want anybody to see. As Jessie said, think about what happened right before you cut, how you felt, etc. and you'll have a better idea of what triggered you to cut, and how to avoid/cope with that trigger.

[enfantreve]

It is totally possible and common for people to cut just to gain attention. You may have had your own objectives for doing so, and whatever those may be whatever they are. But, to answer your question, yes. People cut for attention. I did once.

[WhoAmI?]

No I don't agree. I don't cut or hurt myself for attention.
When someone self-harms, the initial pain is caught by your nervous system (normally before any pain is felt) and that releases endorphins into your body and brain and stops all physical pain and leaves your brain/mind/body with a calm-euphoric-like feeling.