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Why doesn't it hurt when we self harm?

22 Answers
Last Updated: 04/01/2019 at 11:29pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
Greece
Moderated by

Johanna Liasides, MSc, PhDc

Psychologist

I work with youth and young adults to help them improve depressive symptoms and self-esteem as well as effectively address family, relationship and peer conflicts.

Top Rated Answers
positiveWhisper24
April 12th, 2015 10:05pm
Our bodies have natural pain killers, they're called endorphins. When we self harm, endorphins are released as the body's natural defense against the pain. Endorphins feel GREAT. In fact, the feeling of the endorphin release is often what we want to feel and part of the reason we continue to self harm.
HereForYou92
September 22nd, 2015 10:09am
self harm is generally done to forget a bigger pain (pain that hurts our heart).. so physical pain is always less painful than the inner pain that we have..
Anonymous
November 9th, 2015 8:47pm
It doesn't hurt, because all we think about is the craving for the sight of blood, and the sencation. When I used to cut, I could cut really deep and wouldn't feel a thing. Only the sencation.
Mamawolfe02
June 17th, 2015 4:35pm
Its not that self harm doesn't hurt its that it takes our minds off of our current pain we are having. We use it as an outlet.
ClaireyMarie
July 21st, 2015 2:19am
Because our mental pain is so intense that any physical pain we encounter just doesn't measure up and we barely feel it. Especially because it's self inflicted and we do it to feel better.
Anonymous
June 7th, 2016 3:21pm
Because when we see the blood dripping down, it reminds us that we are alive. It gives us satisfaction and makes us feel like all our problems are gone away.
HannahLGreen
May 7th, 2015 7:15am
It is because of the sensors in our brain, they are like "whoa wait our body is being harmed by itself", therefore it confuses our sensors into thinking we aren't in pain.
shadow8197
June 22nd, 2015 1:37pm
Some people don't feel physical pain from self harming so much. But others can't feel it from having an overwhelming amount of mental pain.
Anonymous
July 6th, 2015 6:13am
Because you are trying to drawn your emotional pain and it works, it is a way to release the feelings trapped inside you.
warriorElaine20
March 24th, 2015 2:35am
Because we did it on purpose, and the pain in our heart is much hurtful than physical pain...we release our pain from our heart to our body so that the stress and sadness would let go.
Anonymous
July 7th, 2015 3:54pm
self harming releases endorphines, also people usually self harm when they feel numb or pent-up and pain is less strong than those feelings
Anonymous
May 29th, 2018 6:33pm
Your either numb, or you could be used to the pain. Or the release could feel so good you don't realize it hurts.
BigHeartBetty
December 13th, 2016 3:22pm
Some of us just need an outlet-- and sometimes that outlet is self harm, where it's not the best outlet, sometimes life just gets the better of us and we cave in. It may or may not hurt, and when it doesn't, it can be because you feel relief. You feel as if you're letting loose all of your worries and troubles. Or sometimes, you just become numb to the pain. This is not an excuse or a reason to harm yourself, and if you or someone you know is suffering from self harm, we here on 7 cups are here to help ❤️
rezal
May 14th, 2018 10:15pm
I never could feel the pain that those in the "right state of mind" associate with self harm. It's almost as if the emotional pain outweighed the physical pain. The sensations of being able to release my emotional distress were addicting to the point I was blind to the negatives that come with that.
CityOfCerise
April 1st, 2019 11:29pm
The pain of self harm usually distracts from the pain that we're feeling internally. We've spiraled so much that we need something to un-numb us, and the sting or burn or ache of self harm either 1. Reminds us that we're alive, or 2. Brings us out of that sinking feeling we're experiencing. Personally, self harm was a way for me to remind myself that yes, I'm alive, and yes, I do have to survive all of this. Self-harm does hurt, but the pain of cutting or burning or punching helped me push through all of pain I was feeling mentally.
Anonymous
May 4th, 2018 3:38am
It doesn’t hurt because we have so much going on in our lives that cutting makes it better. It’s like everything is overwhelming you and you’re drowning. Then you cut and it’s like coming up for air. You can finally breathe. Some of the Weight is lifted.
Dandroider
May 1st, 2018 6:37pm
We get used to the pain, sometimes we damage our nerves with selfharm so we are less sensitive, and often, as you selfharm you learn not to see pain as a bad thing anymore, so when you feel pain, you don't really count it as pain.
torithepoet
June 15th, 2016 11:31pm
While self harming, your body feels so numb because you're not focused on the physical pain, but the mental pain you're going through which is more dominant.
Anonymous
August 25th, 2015 2:13am
Because we don't want to accept the pain that we're causing ourselves to be in. Because we associate other things with the pain
Anonymous
June 7th, 2016 12:00am
Self harm is a way to relieve the internal pain that one gets from their life, the external pain makes the internal pain dampen because it is something you can control and the physical pain is something your body knows how to react to.
calmLove29
December 28th, 2015 9:03pm
because you are hurting yourself ?
ari88
May 17th, 2016 6:06pm
I think it does hurt deep down but emotionally, we may have learned to suppress the emotions in order to keep ourselves from serious pain and physically, we may have grown accustomed to how whatever we self-harm with hurts us.