A Personal View [contest entry]

So many kids cut today because it's most commonly known as:
- an attention-seeking method; or
- a coping mechanism.

Whereas it used to be taboo, cutting is widely known these days.

It has become popular among teenage girls in particular, a somewhat "trend". In schools where it is so important to fit in, girls are cutting themselves because it's the "cool" thing to do. This kind of cutting tends to come and go, and is something that most teenagers grow out of. It isn't an attempt at suicide, it isn't a cry for help, it's something that is getting them attention. These are the kinds of cutters who do it just so they can be called "cutters". The ones who barely scratch their skin with a blade and then show it off like it's something to be proud of. And it's the people like this who make it hard for the ones who are really struggling with something which can be as addictive and dangerous as drugs and alcohol.

To some people, cutting is used as a coping mechanism. From my own personal struggles, I know this to be true.  Whether it's the sense of calm that follows, the feeling of being in control, or feeling alive - from seeing the blood, or feeling the pain - it does in a twisted way, serve it's purpose at helping a person who has not learned effective coping mechanisms. And while they may realise that there are more helpful ways to cope, sometimes it's not as easy as simply stopping. Telling a person who is cutting themselves to stop and just "get over it" can at times do more harm than good. When it's used to cope, and is at a sometimes dangerous level, it takes a long time to recover. Hospitals and shrinks aren't always the answer, but getting to the root of the problem that is causing the cutting often brings an end to the cutting itself. However, a lot of the people who don't cut for attention go to great lengths to hide the harm they are doing to themselves, and it is often very hard to see the signs and be able to get them the help they need.

Cutting as a coping mechanism is not just limited to teenagers, many adults, females in particular, still resort to it. [Women are more inclined to harm themselves, than commit suicide, hence why male suicide rates are higher.]

Cutting is by no means something that I encourage, nor should anyone. I've heard stories of people who have coerced their friends into cutting, and although I'm not going to say that cutting is "wrong", that kind of behaviour is.

There is a huge difference between the people who cut for attention or fun, and the ones who cut to cope; between the ones who leave superficial marks, and the ones who practically cut to the bone. And yet because of the increasing numbers of cutters, most cases are viewed the same. Teenagers who harm themselves are often written off as "attention-seekers", and while this may be the case for many, what happens to the ones who are coping the only way they know how with issues they have? And I mean more than a bad day at school - the ones who have been abused, the ones who don't know how to deal with their pain and trauma. What about the ones who need the help of the people who write them off?

There are many reasons why people cut themselves, and the varying degrees to how they do it. And unless you are an individual person who is cutting, who can really say why a person behaves the way they do. It's easy for someone who doesn't know what it's like to sit back and rattle off their opinions, but unless you have the personal experience to back your views up, what does it really count for?