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Originally Posted by cierah
I don't entirely agree with this for in my experience burning prevented a lot of other potentially worse choices on my part - like suicide. And ppl do live with cutting as a way of life. It's part of who a lot of ppl are. I don't think it's something that can be 'encouraged' in an individual. Either it works for the individual or it doesn't and if it doesn't than no amount of encouragement can force that individual to cut consistently. Although I do agree that there are other more constructive avenues to encourage ppl to go down than cutting.
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You're right, there are more constructive avenues. While cutting may allow people to "deal" with things, it certainly isn't adaptive. It is a form of escapism, which in and of itself isn't so bad. Escapism can be a healthy psychological defense. However, cutting (or burning or mutilation or eating disorders) is a dangerous and harmful compulsion and it does not resolve anything.
A way to visualize cutting behaviors is to think of a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker builds up pressure steadily over time. Eventually, things get so hot and pressured that release is needed. With cutters, what usually happens is that they keep inside emotions like anger and pain. By keeping them inside and not dealing with them, there is a lot of pressure as a result. A way to release these pent up emotions is to cut. Persons with Borderline Personality Disorder often do this as a way to just feel something.
I have dealt as a therapist (I'm a clinical psychology graduate student) with cases of cutting in (usually) girls as young as 13, though there are many cases with people younger than that. It is ugly to see and even though it is a way to deal with problems, none of these girls are happy, and they often feel out of control.