Mental Health cutting for relief from anxiety?

[butcher22]

of course everyone is going to advise against it and/or think i sound like a depressed teenage girl, but i used to cut and burn myself when i was a kid to relieve tension and stress. that was when i was like 16 years old, i just turned 30 today and i know its a stupid thing to do but i didnt have debilitating anxiety back then and without drugs i am constantly anxious so i decided fuck it and gave myself a little cut and it did seem to calm me. im wondering if anyone else can relate? i think most because self harm because of depression but i am wondering if anyone does it for anxiety

 

[butcher22]

anxiety give me a feel of total lack of control and im always convinced that i will die during panic attacks. i felt my anxiety getting intense to i ran my switchblade across my leg and feeling the pain and seeing the blood gave me a feeling of control, even if only of my own pain. kind of like telling my brain "fuck you, you cant hurt me. i can"

 

[herbavore]

I can relate though my experience with cutting is over 40 years ago. I do remember that there was an anticipation, the act itself puts you in touch with your body (not in a healthy way but still undeniable) and afterwards there is both relief/release as well as some strange "reward" of having done something that no one else knows about. Finding healthy ways to deal with panic attacks and generalized anxiety was pivotal for me. I cannot stress enough that this did not happen overnight nor was it the result of medication. It has been a slow process of accepting negative feelings (fear, anger, sadness) and changing the thoughts I have about the feelings, with the latter being the most powerful change.

Here are a couple of links: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/self_injury.htm

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/725268-cutting-for-relief-from-anxiety

The second one gives breathing exercises as a way to replace cutting with a healthy alternative. I think that is a very good strategy. Meditation, even just conscious or mindful breathing is one of the most powerful tools against anxiety.

 

[luggage]

when i did it out of depression, it was depressing, something i'd do once a day just to watch it bleed. not really sure what i was thinking then, i was 14.

after i started taking gaba drugs (ambien and ativan), i started self-harming much more frequently, and it was always anxiety related. it made me feel like i was in control of things. like, sure i feel like i can't control if someone else hurts me, but i can control me hurting myself. though i admit most of the time when i did it i was in the midst of a panic attack, looking for anything to make it better, and it usually didn't help a lot. the blood used to calm me down, but more recently, usually i'd just look at the mess i made and think, 'that was pointless, and now i have some ugly marks to hide for a month, great.' and then pop a pill and go to lala land :/ i'm almost certain the pills were the cause of the panic, though, and so indirectly the cause of the increased frequency of self harm.

but, actually, i found online that most self-harm is related to anxiety. i can't find the link now, of course i'll post it if i find it again.

i've found CBT to be helpful for being more rational during the irrational panic, maybe you might find it useful?
http://www.psychologytools.org/download-therapy-worksheets.html

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Why not exercise instead? The pain might be similar, yet it's healthy!

 

[SummerSerenade]

I used to self harm when I was about... 14/15 I guess, seems like ages ago now. Unlike most people it wasn't because I was madly depressed or anything, I think mainly I just enjoyed the pain in a weird way, it's a bit like the kick I get from drugs. I never really found it that hard to stop and only did because my mother found out and obviously freaked out. A few weeks back though after not doing it for 4+ years (I'm 19 now) I was feeling shit after running out of coke and got quite drunk and out of nowhere ended up doing it worse than I ever had before to the extent that I probably should have gone to get stitches. Have never really spoken to anyone about it or felt the need to but meh, I guess it is/was a way of coping for me, probably more than I admit to myself.

Don't know what the point of that story was but basically it isn't worth it and doesn't help in the long run. Hope everyone's ok and if anyone wants to chat ever then I'm here Hugs.

 

[butcher22]

I can relate though my experience with cutting is over 40 years ago. I do remember that there was an anticipation, the act itself puts you in touch with your body (not in a healthy way but still undeniable) and afterwards there is both relief/release as well as some strange "reward" of having done something that no one else knows about. Finding healthy ways to deal with panic attacks and generalized anxiety was pivotal for me. I cannot stress enough that this did not happen overnight nor was it the result of medication. It has been a slow process of accepting negative feelings (fear, anger, sadness) and changing the thoughts I have about the feelings, with the latter being the most powerful change.

Here are a couple of links: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/self_injury.htm

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/725268-cutting-for-relief-from-anxiety

The second one gives breathing exercises as a way to replace cutting with a healthy alternative. I think that is a very good strategy. Meditation, even just conscious or mindful breathing is one of the most powerful tools against anxiety.

thank you. i will check them out

 

[butcher22]

when i did it out of depression, it was depressing, something i'd do once a day just to watch it bleed. not really sure what i was thinking then, i was 14.

after i started taking gaba drugs (ambien and ativan), i started self-harming much more frequently, and it was always anxiety related. it made me feel like i was in control of things. like, sure i feel like i can't control if someone else hurts me, but i can control me hurting myself. though i admit most of the time when i did it i was in the midst of a panic attack, looking for anything to make it better, and it usually didn't help a lot. the blood used to calm me down, but more recently, usually i'd just look at the mess i made and think, 'that was pointless, and now i have some ugly marks to hide for a month, great.' and then pop a pill and go to lala land :/ i'm almost certain the pills were the cause of the panic, though, and so indirectly the cause of the increased frequency of self harm.

but, actually, i found online that most self-harm is related to anxiety. i can't find the link now, of course i'll post it if i find it again.

i've found CBT to be helpful for being more rational during the irrational panic, maybe you might find it useful?
http://www.psychologytools.org/download-therapy-worksheets.html

i will check this out as well. thanks

 

[butcher22]

i dont think i will do it agan though. it helped a bit for a short time and now i feel stupid every time i look at the cut. i do desperately need to find something that helps with my anxiety, maybe i can learn something new from the links you guys shared. this is no way to live

 

[flyhighk]

There are healthier ways to relieve anxiety, but if pain is the only thing that relieves your anxiety, you can get deep tissue massages, which can be painful, or you can slap yourself. Slapping yourself is much much safer than cutting.