How can I get rid of that empty feeling? For months even years now I feel like I'm hollowed out, like my soul/mind is separate to my outer appearance. I feel alone and like no one wants to be around me. Could someone tell me how to get over these feelings or at least why I'm feeling like this? Thanks :)

Hi I'm 14 and yeah I cut and honestly I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't want to stop and quite frankly cant. I can only see bad consequences from it, only good things. So I wanted to know what are the long/short term effects and are there and legitimate reasons I need to stop, despite the scars? Thank you :)

Scars you may not want a special person to see, later on in life, is one long term aspect of cutting. You will be forever labelled with emotional concerns that may not apply, also later in life. So what is going in your family life, or school life that makes you feel like this ?

Scaring is the main reason. Even in the cuts are in hidden or intimate areas, they'll be seen somewhere or some how. It might feel good now but when you're out of this fun and you see them you'll regret it. On top of that, whenever you cut yourself you're introducing the possibility for infection. You're body is good at this, but if you get the right bug in there it could be fatal. Blood infections, flesh eating bacteria, and just subcutaneous infections could REALLY ruin your life.

As to why you're seeing and feeling the way you are. There is no easy answer to that. What's happened in your life lately? Parental death? Other death in the family? Rape? Abuse? Your favourite NHL Team not going to make the play offs? All this that you are or not feeling is unique to yourself, and only with introspection can you figure out why you're feeling like this. As well one falls part in parcel with the other. The feeling and rush of cutting could be a substitute for all the feelings and emotions that you're not feeling. It is better to feel pain than nothing at all. I don't think this is your standard TeenAge Malaise that most people go through. I would talk to your parents, guidance counsellor, priest, or someone about this. You need help and only someone who can talk and relate with you will do. You want to make this better so you know that there is something wrong. That's the hard step, the first step. Now that you know that something is wrong, you need to find help.

Please look before you do something you might regret later in life.

I know you may be kind of young to understand all the information I am giving you, so take your time and read through the links please. Cutting is a very complicated behavior, that often is a substitute for dealing with other issues you feel helpless, or powerless about.

Self-harm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

---

These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem^{[SIZE=3][13][/SIZE]} or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse.^{[SIZE=3][14][/SIZE][SIZE=3][15][/SIZE]}

---

Cutting and Self-Harm: Self-Injury Help, Support, and Treatment

Quote:

---

If self-harm helps, why stop?

• Although self-harm and cutting can give you temporary relief, it comes at a cost. In the long term, it causes far more problems than it solves.
• The relief is short lived, and is quickly followed by other feelings like shame and guilt. Meanwhile, it keeps you from learning more effective strategies for feeling better.
• Keeping the secret from friends and family members is difficult and lonely.
• You can hurt yourself badly, even if you don't mean to. It's easy to misjudge the depth of a cut or end up with an infected wound.
• If you don't learn other ways to deal with emotional pain, it puts you at risk for bigger problems down the line, including major depression, drug and alcohol addiction, and suicide.
• Self-harm can become addictive. It may start off as an impulse or something you do to feel more in control, but soon it feels like the cutting or self-harming is controlling you. It often turns into a compulsive behavior that seems impossible to stop.

The bottom line: self-harm and cutting don't help you with the issues that made you want to hurt yourself in the first place.

---

That temporary relief often hides the real solution to whatever causes your cutting. So what's needed is talking to someone like a doctor, counselor, teacher, or parent. It's a warning sign that you cannot see the harm you are doing to yourself, and reaching out for help, as you have done here is the important next step in your process.

I know it's a lot to wrap your head around all at once, so take your time and read upon it to understand what you are dealing with, and look around for that trusted adult to talk to.

Your thoughts so far?

Thanks so much for your reply! I think my childhood (yes I know I'm still a 'kid') is coming back to haunt me. Years of pushing things down and pretending I'm okay has built up to the point were I can't deal with my emotions. That's the main reson I've sort of figured. There's loads of other things that just push me over the edge too but there not important I guess :)

ALL feelings are important, and talking helps a lot, especially when we cannot see a way to deal with things in a positive manner. Think of it as being guided to use good coping tools to deal with difficult situations. Talking is the first step in venting intense feelings so they can be dealt with, and you can start with a journal/diary of your feelings to help you start to get them out. Then talking to a trusted experienced adult may be easier with PRACTICE, over time.

Cutting is a quick fix that does more harm than good, a is any bad behavior or tantrum. But learning to express yourself is a process that in time actually will relieve and solve whatever issue is pressing you. It's a learning process.

Feel free to express your thoughts here, big, small, no matter.