• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Promotivia

Ideas. Innovation. Excellence.

  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family
    • Furniture
    • Health
    • Education
    • Pet Care
    • Construction
    • Marketing
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Why Is My Teen Involved in Cutting?

Last updated on May 29, 2012 by Sozo Staff 1 Comment

If you’re asking this question, you’re at least heading in the right direction. Sometimes parents of teens who self-injure by cutting make the mistake of assuming it’s a suicide attempt or simply berating them for the practice and telling them to stop. While discovering that your child practices cutting can be traumatic, trying to discover the reason behind the behavior can help you and your teen work through the underlying issues and find healthier coping techniques. Most often, cutting is a means of coping with unhappiness, but that’s not the only possible motivation.

Dulling the Pain

Typically, those who practice cutting don’t use any kind of drug to dull the pain caused by the cutting; in fact, the cutting itself is a means of dulling emotional pain. While this may seem counter-intuitive to those who have never personally dealt with a craving for self-injury, it is often the motivation. Often, those who engage in cutting can be victims of sexual abuse or frustrated over-achievers who have trouble coping with issues outside their control. Many come from homes in which expressing grief or anger is discouraged. By cutting, they take control and find expression for their emotional pain. So, rather than leading to suicide, it can lessen the chances of a suicide attempt.

By contrast, if a person who is involved in cutting is not counseled properly but simply kept from this method of coping with pain, the chances of a suicide attempt may actually increase.

Experimenting and Copying

Adolescence, which seems to start younger and younger in our culture, involves a quest for self-identity. Kids want to figure out who they are, and sometimes experimenting with self-injury can be a part of this phase, even for “normal kids.” Like doing drugs, cutting is a dangerous behavior and should not be taken lightly. Unlike drug use, though, cutting won’t make everyone feel better. It will dull the pain only for those who already have some underlying issues.

Just because you caught your teen (or tween) cutting once or twice doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is unhappy. Until recently, this practice was pretty much kept private (easy to do with long sleeves and pants), entertainment venues now showcase it, leading to kids as young as 9 years old to experiment with it. Of course, if a young person’s friends or older siblings are engaging in the practice, that kind of influence can prompt copy-cat cutting, as well, and the Goth culture is particularly prone to embrace cutting.

Whether you think your teen is using cutting as a means of coping with emotional pain or is merely experimenting or trying to fit in, you can start to help by showing your support. Instead of showing your fear or anger, you need to let your teen know that you want to help. Finding a counselor with experience in dealing with cutting can help both you and your teen understand the behavior and find more healthy ways of dealing with traumatic events.

Filed Under: Family

Additional Articles

hot tub water bubbles tickling womans feet
FAQs About Spool Pools
father with young son splashing camera in pool
A Few Fresh Ideas for Your Next Pool Party
young girl swimming underwater with goggles
Teaching Your Child To Swim: The Four Basic Strokes, Part 4
Teaching Your Child To Swim: The Four Basic Strokes, Part 3
young girl hugging dog
Be Prepared for Unexpected Company with the X10 Driveway Sensor/Alert Kit
mom and dad grinning with two children
Set Up a Basic X10 Home Automation System Using These Quick, Easy Steps, Part 2

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob says

    September 6, 2012 at 9:01 am

    I think they’re just mostly experimenting. Teens get bored and depressed and – bingo – they grab a knife and start chiseling away. Maybe their trying to get attention? Maybe its a deep call from within. Time to just start stocking plastic knives in the kitchen I guess …

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

twenty − 17 =

Primary Sidebar

Jackrabbit Class Software

Popular Articles

  • Expandable Children's Furniture at The Bedroom Source
  • African Mahogany Lumber vs Genuine Mahogany Lumber
  • The City Way: Taking Your Child’s Bed to the Next Level with Maxtrix!
  • Perfect Furniture for a Boy's Bedroom, Pt 1
  • Perfect Furniture for a Boy's Bedroom, Pt 2
  • How Do You Treat Reactive Attachment Disorder?
  • Ultra-Budget-Friendly Swimming Pool Upgrades
  • Why Sleep Is Important for Young Athletes
  • Why Parents Love Jackrabbit Class Management Software
Swimming pools

Recent Articles

  • Building Your Business: Networking, Part 4
  • Building Your Business: Networking, Part 3
  • Building Your Business: Networking, Part 2
  • Building Your Business: Networking, Part 1
  • The Perfect Addition to Your Poolside Patio: An Outdoor Pizza Oven
  • FAQs About Spool Pools
  • A Few Fresh Ideas for Your Next Pool Party
  • Good News: These Three Problems Aren’t RWIs
  • Nuts & Bolts of Priority Enrollment for Your Swim School
  • The Sun, Your Swimming Pool & Your Skin, Part 4
Home automation with X10

Recent Comments

  • Meg on How Do You Treat Reactive Attachment Disorder?
  • Aika on Can Bedroom Furniture Help Your Child’s Mood & Academic Performance?
  • WAYNE Prokosch on It’s an Ipe Thing
  • Amanda Drew on The Wood Drying Process
  • Hannah on Quality Western Redcedar Lumber
  • Hannah on Is Ipe Decking Lumber Right for You?

Copyright © 2021 Sozo Firm Inc · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer · Sitemap