Is it still considered cutting if I just use a safety pin to scratch the surface and no blood?

Yes. You are tearing apart your skin still. Sweetie, it might not seem like you are doing any real harm, but you are. Self-harm is horrible. Please try to stop. I know that I don't your story or anything, and I can't tell you how to live your life, but I can give you advice. I went down that road before, and type of self-harm, big or small, is bad. It becomes addicting whether you want it to or not. Please stop. For those we love you, for me, and most importantly, yourself. You don't need to be doing this. Whatever is bothering you right now, wont matter in a few years. Yes, bad things will happen, but you don't need to do bad things to yourself in return. You are dealing with enough, don't add on more problems. If you feel like you want to hurt to hurt yourself, talk to someone about it. Work through your feelings. You are not alone, darling. People care about you. I care about you. Stay strong

I am not sure if you can count that as cutting but it still counts as self harm which is just as serious! Self harm is any way of inflicting pain or injury in yourself on purpose. It doesn't matter if there is blood or not.

Yes, because it is still the act of wanting to 'hurt' yourself, and that is the whole idea behind why cutting is self-harm.

yes if you hurt yourself in anyway it is self harm not cutting but it is self harm

Yes, it is still considered a form of self harm that can be dangerous to you. While there may be no blood it can still scar the skin tissue

It isn't considered cutting, but it is considered self mutilation. Cutting is specific to making cuts on the skin but self mutilation refers to anything that would be self harming.

It may not literally be cutting but it is still self-injury. Self-injury is a coping mechanism many people mistake as suicidal behavior. Self-injury can be positive in that the chances of suicide are less likely however.

it is. cutting or not cutting depends on the intention. if you do it with a safety pin with the intention to cut, then it's cutting, in my opinion. try to change the drive into something else, something more positive... maybe finding a hobby will help ?

It might not be considered cutting, but it's definitely self harm. Please don't do it. Love yourself. If you don't love your own self, who will? Before going out telling people you love them, or telling anybody else you love them, love your own self. Your body is a temple.

It is still self harm. Any way of harming yourself, is self harm. Whether it's burning, scratching, cutting, bruising, it's all self harm.

This is still self harm. It's called scratching, and is not technically cutting. It is still unhealthy, as hurting yourself can negatively affect your mental health and you may become addicted to the feeling it gives you, or you may feel the need to raise the severity and start to scratch deeper until you are cutting yourself. Cutting is very dangerous, as many deaths occur when cutters cut too deep and accidentally sever an artery, which will result in a very long and painful death. It is not cutting, but could lead to dangerous effects.

I wouldn't define it as cutting but it is most definitely self-harming. It's addictive, i started off with scratching and pinching, ended up giving myself 3rd degree burns twice in the same place on my leg and also cutting my legs and upper arms. If you are self-harming, please reach out to someone...anyone, a friend a doctor or a therapist. Self harming covers up your emotions, if you want to stop self-harming or just want advice then please reach out.

any way of self harming is bad , try to find a new way to deal with things , something better will always come

What you just described is a form of self-harm. While it may not be described as "cutting", it still is a form of self-harm, and I urge you to see a medical professional, before this becomes any worse.

It is self-harm, which means you are dealing with emotions that need to be processed healthy in a not constructive way. Self-harm is not always just cutting (people harm themselves also emotionally, or with overeating and opposite, not eating..) and everytime it comes to similar actions, it is a good idea to consider professional help. Also you can feel free to contact any listener here and read our self-harm guide. Also it can be very helpful to just write down all your emotions you are feeling that you need to relieve with pain. Keeping a diary and write your feelings down is an effective way to feel better.

Yes. Self harm can very from severe gashes, to mere scratches. The definition of cutting is to make an incision in one's own flesh, as a symptom of emotional distress. That being said, scratching is another way of self harm...so you're not exactly cutting, but scratching. By asking this question, it makes me wonder if you're trying to self harm just so you an say you self harm. Of course, I am more than likely wrong, so I apologize for making assumptions. To answer your question, yes.

Yes. Something I find helps is to squeeze an ice cube in your fist and doodle wherever you want to cut. Use nontoxic markers, we don't want you to get ink poisoning!

Most people would. Overall, this is still classified as self harm. We have lots of resources on this website that can help you out.

Any kind of self inflicted injury classifies as self harm. The Term is not the important part You should be defining this action by. The fact is, this is still a method of self harm as long as the negative mental attitude is supplied that way towards the action you are describing. Self harm is a serious issue that should be discussed with a professional if that is possible. I think you should also think to yourself why the term is an important word to you, to me, this shows a hidden understanding of the depth of your actions.

I'm sorry you're having these thoughts of any self harm, even if it is "just" a "scratch". Any form of self harm is scary and for me, although I felt some relief, I had to learn to distract myself and not try to justify what I was doing by words like, "Well, it's just a scratch" or "But there was no blood". I have found in my lifetime that it is SUPER easy to justify things to myself if I think about it long enough and word it to myself in just the right way....but I also know I am not really fooling myself.