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why does cutting make me feel better but then bad afterwards?

265 Answers
Last Updated: 12/14/2022 at 1:32am
1 Tip to Feel Better
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I am an enthusiastic life-long learner and also a professor of counseling. I have a passion for peoples stories and helping to guide and empower the human spirit.

Top Rated Answers
youarevalid
August 3rd, 2016 10:03pm
Cutting, or any form of self harm, is a temporary fix. It can feel good to relieve your pain by hurting yourself, but after you're done, you feel pretty bad. A lot of people experience this, and self harming becomes an addiction to them because they don't want to feel bad, and self harming is the only thing that can make them feel good.
NumberEleven
August 7th, 2016 1:10am
Cutting releases feel good hormones, but after that you feel the guilt of what you've done so maybe that's why you feel bad.
michelle2000
August 8th, 2016 12:46am
The cutting that you do releases chemicals from the brain that generate happiness. This happiness lasts for a short amount of time until you realize what you've done to yourself and you begin to regret your actions. At first you enjoy the pain, but then you hate the consequences.
lilest
August 5th, 2016 2:08am
Cutting or any kind of self-harm is good at the momento cause is make endorfine being released on your body, making you feel good for a little time, but then is stops and all come back on the felling before. Most of the time becomes a addiction because of it, you want more time-out of your pain and cut yourself more, What turns it on a really vicous cycle, hope I helped.
solabee
June 30th, 2017 5:45am
Self-harm is a way to quickly flood your nervous system with endorphins and adrenaline. This will cause changes in your breathing and heartbeat as it clears your mind. Physically, you should feel calm and focused, maybe even happy or relieved. This is because of the increase in endorphins and adrenaline. Both of these are not lasting or sustainable in your body. Biologically speaking, they are useful when you are in danger, since they are what help you stay conscious and aware when you are threatened or injured. They numb physical pain and turn off the rational-thinking parts of your brain. But once these chemicals subside, reality is able to set in, and you're left with the physical pain of your new injury. Plus, whatever caused all the stress before you harmed yourself still exists. Nothing has changed your circumstances, and on top of that, you're now feeling physical pain, as well as emotional pain and stress, again. Self-harming is a coping mechanism we use to try and gain relief and control in the moment, but there are no types of self-harm that can actually solve any of your anxieties or eliminate your depression. Whatever is causing these will be there after the adrenaline and endorphins go away. So it's best to get professional help to address the underlying causes, and medical attention for your injuries, if needed. Good luck, and take care.
Anonymous
August 24th, 2016 1:33am
It releases natural pain modulators from the body making you feel euphoric. These chemicals feel similar to a lot of pain drugs, but the sensation goes away very quickly. Then you're just left with a full cut which can be very painful and quite dangerous. You may also feel guilty for doing this to yourself for the moment of feeling good. The good news is that there are other way to have that same good feeling without hurting yourself. Stay safe.
Anonymous
August 4th, 2016 3:55am
Cutting provides an in the moment relief but you feel bad afterwards because you realize what you just did. This is what I have felt in my experience.
Supergirl94
August 11th, 2016 12:56am
It is a temporary relief. The pain allows you to be distracted from how you feel and allows a different sensation to take over you. But you also just hurt yourself so your body is rejecting what has happened to it and you still feel the way you did before cutting. It is a temporary fix, so when the sensation leaves you, you are left feeling how you felt before and with just an aching cut on yourself. You may also feel there is a better way to get through it, but you feel stuck, depressed, helpless to stop it.
AngelFace97
August 11th, 2016 8:50pm
Cutting is a form of self-harming.. It helps to relieve pain and release a hormone called endorphins. When we are being relieved from a specific emotion or type of mental pain and when we are releasing those endorphins, it can help to make us feel better. Yet after we have cut, it then causes anger and guilt within us. So, cutting makes you feel better right there and then in that moment but then after makes you feel bad again.
Anonymous
January 7th, 2018 1:01pm
You feel waves of emotions coming towards you. You can't handle it. You feel overwhelmed. So how do you cope up? By cutting. That cutting distracts you from the overwhelming feelings so you feel good but then the reality hits you and you feel bad. It's like drugs...
AskBeth
August 10th, 2016 7:29pm
Self-harm is tricky to understand, it gives you a sense of relief but then you feel guilty afterwards for 'giving in'. It's a vicious circle but if you can find just one thing that takes your mind away from self-harm even in the desperate times, that's a big step towards battling it and ending it.
Anonymous
April 23rd, 2017 8:07pm
It probably feels good at first because you are in control. You are doing what you want without anyone to tell you not to. It's like a power high. But then afterwards you realize what you've done. You realize that what you did made you feel good, but it wasn't what you really wanted deep down. You may want control. You may want happiness, or success. Cutting isn't the answer and you know that. Which is why you feel regret afterwards. Don't continue down this path. Keep your head up and control what you can, just not in the way of self harm. Message someone if you feel the urge to cut again. Talk it out. Please. Be safe. Stay safe.
BlackWolf1002
December 16th, 2019 10:23am
self harm is usually a method we use to escape from our Mental pain through Physical pain, when our Mental pain is way over our power to withstand and it becomes too much, after the Mental pain is gone we completely focus on the physical pain which makes us feel bad, know how precious you are and there is only one version of you, mental pain is temporary we do not want it to lead us to Physical harm, we deserve happiness and A fair life, think of how many people care about you, friends, family members and also this beautiful community
CassisRose
March 31st, 2017 5:48am
Cutting causes real, physical pain. When you cut your body releases endorphins to help you deal with that pain and any stress it might cause. Endorphins also make you feel great, like an actual chemical high, when they are pumping through your bloodstream. You feel fantastic for a while, but then the endorphins begin to wear off and the emotions that made you want to cut in the first place return. That same control you felt while cutting, now feels like a lack of control, which can turn into guilt and shame. Feelings reinforced by the desire to hide what you've done.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2016 1:17pm
Sometimes the immediate pain helps us feel better, like we are releasing everything bad with it, but then afterwards we start to think a little more clearly again and end up feeling bad for various reasons
Zachariah1999
August 12th, 2016 11:03am
Think of it like your sadness is an ocean. You keep walking deeper and deeper until you cant see the surface. You need help. Then a life raft comes along. That's cutting. It feels good, you can breathe again. But there is still some water on your body. The sadness still lingers, and that's why you feel bad again.
saxophonist02
April 8th, 2018 4:13am
cutting is often used as a form of "freedom." at least, for me it was. we inflicted pain on ourselves because others' hate and negativity made us numb. but, the reason we feel bad afterwards, is because we have a reminder of pain and loneliness with us forever. we ruined our bodies by this, and therefore, we feel guilty.
Anonymous
March 10th, 2017 4:58am
It is something that causes you a freeing relief from your pain in the moment but does not solve the problem. It is as if you are adding more scars on top of invisible wounds. It creates a more tangible pain to the pain you feel on the inside. From my personal experience, I feel a lot of shame after I cut. To me it is the only way out and the only thing that will calm me in the moment, but in the days following I resent myself for doing it. I understand the stigma around it and how the people around me feel about it, but more drastically I understand that it is a sign of how I view myself. I am walking around with marks on my body that constantly remind me of the negative self image and pain I feel. It just digs in and causes more issues.
elishevacares
June 21st, 2018 9:09am
Maybe because when you cut yourself, your body naturally produces endorphins to help you deal with stress and pain. But since nothing last forever, so does this chemical compound. Then, maybe, after your endorphins doesn’t last, you have already become calmer and you now can think normally. You realize that what you did wasn’t right plus your problem is still there though you have cut yourself, which is why you feel bad afterwards. Anyway, that’s just my opinion. However, it’s better to love yourself, right? So if you feel like cutting again, please find a professional for help. You deserve to feel better and to be treated well.
Anonymous
September 3rd, 2016 7:49pm
Hey sweetie, there's this thing call your conscience that makes you feel bad when you do bad stuff, but after awhile it fades away. Cutting is something that I did and it works like this: First you feel really bad. Next, you start cutting and feel like all the pain you felt before went away. Last, you conscience makes you realize that you have harmed your precious, beautiful body and you feel bad. Tell someone about your cutting. They can help you. And if you're older, go to your nearest therapist.
klarathealien
March 4th, 2017 4:38pm
Because when cutting you concentrate on another pain. And it realizes adrenaline which can be addictive. It's like a drug: while doing it you feel good, when it's effect stops you feel sad. You also feel bad because you know you shouldn't do it.
Anonymous
May 21st, 2017 1:52pm
Self-harm makes the body feel good because the injuries trigger the fight-or-flight response, so your body releases adrenaline and dopamine: hormones that spike your energy levels and make you feel good. However, contemplating self-harm afterwards can often induce guilt, shame or anger. I suggest that you seek help from a counsellor or someone that you trust - these behaviors can threaten your life and are short-term ineffective solutions to deeper problems. Stay safe.
xxcassie
February 24th, 2017 9:26pm
For me personally, cutting is a way to release everything that's going on inside of me. It's a way for me to focus on the physical pain rather than the emotional pain, to have pain that I can understand. It's something that I can control when everything else feels so out of control. In a way, cutting makes me feel better. It's something that I know I can always turn too. But after I'm finished, I feel upset with myself. Because although it momentarily made me feel better, it didn't actually address the root of the pain. It's not dealing with it, it's distracting yourself in an attempt to cope with it all. And then suddenly everything just comes flooding back again- and along with all of it you feel weak for giving in. The scars become another thing- another part of yourself- that you have to hide.
RainbowAtHeart
February 13th, 2017 2:00am
You feel guilty afterwards, but at the time you're body releases endorphins to combat the pain, as well as adrenaline, which can be quite pleasant. You feel guilty due to the fact that it's been ingrained in your mind that self harm is bad
Anonymous
February 5th, 2017 5:44pm
Because cutting relieves the pain temporarily. You stop thinking about your problems or your pain for a while, but then when the pain goes away you're left with yet another scar / damage, and that makes you feel bad. Because you know you shouldn't have done it, but you did
Anonymous
August 20th, 2016 6:23pm
your brain releases chemicals when you cut but when your done cutting it will go away. Its like getting drunk when your cutting but then you wake up with a hangover.
andylistens
November 11th, 2016 5:44pm
It makes you feel better in the moment. Self harm is a short term solution, not a long term solution. You feel guilty afterwards, because you know there are a million other things you could've done rather than hurt yourself.
Anonymous
November 12th, 2016 3:39pm
It feels better because your body is focusing on the physical pain instead of the mental pain . You feel bad afterwards because you feel guilty for hurting yourself
TheIrrationalBuddhist20
October 28th, 2016 1:48am
Cutting distracts the brain from emotional trauma, but a sense of guilt will most likely come afterwards. Rather than cutting, try playing with legos or clay. Your brain will focus more on the work your hands are doing, rather than the emotions.
Anonymous
September 6th, 2020 4:40pm
I had been in this position once. In my case, when i felt bad, i had some kind of tunnel vision that cutting was the only thing to relieve me from my negative feeling. It did, like i finally got the punishment i deserve for being that way. But hours after that when i had some time to breath, i realized that it didn't solve what made me feel bad in the first place. Instead it left me with stinging pain, and a pure look of sadness from people close to me, which made me feel bad even more because others had to suffer a collateral damage