Why are there so many teenagers cutting right now?

[TheBellJar]

I used to work on a counseling phone line, I studied psychology and read books about this. I'm sorry to say to you that a lot of young people do it as a response to having been raped.
And yes the common "line" is that it takes away emotional pain, but for many it's a recreation of the feeling of being raped only the teen is in control of the physical pain.

I agree that the internet is normalizing it so that more people are probably using it as a coping mechanism.

Many people bitter enough to do something that self destructive have been raped and they generally don't want to tell their parents because it's too embarrassing for them.

[beccaboo]

i'm 13 and a selfharmer, people do it for different reasons i do it because of bullying..

mabye she is not telling you the truth mabye she is hiding somethink serious like well anythink bullying anythink

or yh you might be right she might be doing it to fit in but then tht don't sound like the whole story to me

[anonymous]

I agree with Char as it seems to be a means of gaining control. A teen's life is dictated by their parents. I know for me it was an escape from the pressure put on me by my parents to
succeed as well as to turn away from the competition between my sister and I. Cutting was a way to control pain since I was unable to control anything else.

[Maribel]

12 years ago when I was 14 a lot of kids were doing it.

People do it for different reasons.

If she's only done it once or twice and it's small cuts she creates, this may not be something serious. But if she is creating deep cuts you need to take her to see a psychiatrist.

I did it a couple of times. Once to see what would happen. Once to look down at the cut on my arm and say to myself, "This never should have happened. Someone should have helped me through my pain."