Self-mutilation / cutting?

[rizen1]

What does the Bible say about self-mutilation / cutting?

Question: "What does the Bible say about self-mutilation / cutting?"


Answer: In the Old Testament of the Bible, self-mutilation was a common practice among false religions. 1 Kings 18:24-29 describes a ritual in which those who worshiped the false god Baal slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom. Because of the traditions of pagans, God made a law against this sort of practice. Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.”


In the New Testament, cutting oneself was associated with someone who was possessed by demons (Mark 5:2-5). It was characteristic of behavior caused by evil spirits. Today, self-mutilation is rarely used for ritualistic practices or actual demon possession, but instead usually by teen-agers and young adults who have misplaced anger and pain that they are attempting to work out in destructive ways. Instead of dealing with emotional pain, some people would rather bring themselves physical pain, which actually serves as a relief from stress. Unfortunately, though, this sense of relief is quite short-lived, and the feeling of wanting to be self-destructive quickly returns.


The Bible doesn't talk about self-mutilation in terms of depression or anxiety, but it is very important that whoever is making a practice of this seeks immediate psychological (and hopefully Christian) counseling. They may need to obtain medication in dealing with a mental illness. This behavior also indicates, or can lead to, drug and/or alcohol abuse, eating disorders, identity disorders, and suicidal thoughts or even attempts. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us how important our bodies are to the Lord. We no longer belong to ourselves, but instead we belong to Christ, who purchased us at a high price. We should not abuse one of the greatest gifts we have been given.


A person who is struggling with self-mutilation should seek immediate counsel from a pastor and/or Christian counselor. Self-mutilation is the result of an incorrect view of yourself and of your personal value to God. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a proper understanding of His love is the only true cure for self-mutilation.

GotQuestions.org

 

[rizen1]

"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God" (Isaiah 50:10).


"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. …it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. …What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:18-24).

 

[Coconut]

I wish I could agree with this post, but I am angered by it. The author obviously knows the scripture, but does not have much understanding of the subject.

Instead of dealing with emotional pain, some people would rather bring themselves physical pain

Rather? I think that underlines my point.

Self-mutilation is the result of an incorrect view of yourself and of your personal value to God.

No, self-mutilation is the result of the failing OF the people around the child of God who has resorted to cutting. I am sorry, all this post does is add guilt upon guilt, for anyone who is already dealing with more emotional pain than what they can handle, and is already blaming themselves. It is written in the same grain of those who preach you would be healed if you just had enough faith.

 

[rizen1]

Coming from experience , I see truth.
That I would not deny.

Its not about fault, its about showing the person they have a choice.
No one put a bottle of pills in my hands, I picked it up.
No one showed me how to hurt myself. I did it on my own

Todays society is all about blame, oh some hurt me that's why my life is like this.

We need to change that, and say YES They hurt me, but thank GOD, I have a heavenly father who would not forsake me, thank God I can move past my hurt and pain and put all my burdens on him. Lord forgive them for what they did, and help ME to move on.

 

[Chad]

I agree with the author and sister Coconut. The author made a point, but I don't think it was his/her intention to use the word "rather" in the negative sense. Unfortunately, it can easily be misunderstood here and it was not the best word to use. It somewhat makes the author look as if they do not have the experience or understanding of the victims that cut themselves.

All in all, I don't think the author intended it that way. Its probably best to email our friends at gotquestions.org and ask them to correct it. They're very kind people and seriously devoted to help others, keep this in mind.

 

[rizen1]

I can define the " rather " term.

From experience and collection of stories from friends and people I have counsel.

Rather does seem harsh, but in reality this is how it is. Its the same as someone who eats when they get upset. Its all about finding something to fill that void.

Having control.
To those who do this ( addictively ), "rather" is their only means to escape the emotional cage they are in. They dont purposely want to hurt or kill themselves, they just want a relief.

They dont care about the pagan background, or its roots, to them its their only means.
Thats why help is recommended.

Until you see the scars all over someone's body...rather does seem harsh.

 

[rizen1]

Self-injury in the form of cutting has become an increasingly popular practice among young people. We are often contacted by young women and men who are doing this to themselves, and seeking help.

"Contrary to popular myth, people who harm themselves are not trying to commit suicide. They use self-harm as a way of coping with difficult emotions. Instead of expressing their feelings openly, they take them out on their bodies by cutting or burning themselves, picking their skin, taking an overdose, bruising themselves or pulling their hair out.

…Triggers for self-harm can include bullying, bereavement, pressure at work, abuse, financial problems, pressure to fit in and relationship problems. When these pressures pile up, people can find it difficult to cope. Some say that they feel things are out of control.

One sufferer said: 'I think control's a big thing. You can't control what's happening around you, but you can control what you do to yourself.'

Self-harm is often linked to feelings of self-hatred and depression and appears more common in women than men. Experts suggest this may be because men find it easier to express emotions like anger in an outward way or take it out on others. Some people find it difficult to give up the behavior despite realizing that it could be life-threatening and is not rational" (BBC News - medical report).

 

[lettheredeemed]

A Christian should never hurt their body. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

[trulyblezzed]

Thank you so much for starting a thread about this. It's a common situation amongst our society and it needs to be discussed.



I don't think the author was trying to be negative, but I do think he forgot that some cutters would be reading the article. He could have backed up the convo with some scripture on love.



I have THREE cutters in my youth group (and those are just the ones I KNOW about) and they all tell me they cut for the same reasons... they are hurt inside, alot of times they cut out of anger and some of them cut because of self hatred.



For cutters that I met online and through TJ, I suggest they get some Christian couseling in their neighborhood. I love counseling people online, but it's so hard sometimes because I just want to reach out and hug them! Obviously the internet doesn't allow me to do that though.



For all the cutters/burners out there reading this thread, GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH and He wants to fill that spot in your heart. You may be feeling like you let Him down so many times, but His mercy is new everyday. He's waiting for you to turn around on that path and run to Him... He's waiting for you with open arms. He's wanting you to look for him and to stop feeling lonely and abused. He knows that you hurt and he wants to take you out of that vicious cycle, but it's up to you. God stands at your door and knocks. Are you going to open the door?



God's love is unlike anyone else's love. Some of you may have someone in your life, like a boyfriend/girlfriend or close friends. And you may be saying to yourself right now "I already have love in my life and it doesn't help". But you should ask yourself this question, do you truly have God's love in your life?



If the answer is no or if you are unsure, all you have to do is pray. Some of you have a hard time with praying, like you don't know how to or don't know what to do. Go somewhere to be alone, put on some Christian music (if you go into the chat room there's an mp3 player there), close your eyes and just tell God how you feel. He hears you, He's all around you. Don't be scared to open up to Him because he knows exactly what you're thinking anyway.



God loves you so much, he wants to help you stop hurting yourself. You just need to open your heart to him and talk to him.

 

[rizen1]

=ANN
I never experienced a problem like this myself - thanks to God's grace and
protection because it can happen to anyone. I find the subject very interesting
and found some information that I want to share.

I know it is a lot but hopefully someone reeding this post may benefit from it.

"Self-harm is a way of dealing with very strong emotions. For some people it
gives the relief that crying may provide for the rest of us.
Some self-harming people feel so angry and aggressive they can't control their
emotions. They become afraid that they may hurt someone, so they turn their
aggression inwards to get relief.
People who self-harm are often labelled as 'attention seeking'. However, a
person who self-harms may believe this is the only way to communicate their
distress, and self-harm can be a hidden problem that goes on for years.
It may start as a spur-of-the-moment outlet for anger and frustration (such as
punching a wall) and then develop into a major way of coping with stress that,
because it remains hidden, generates more stress.
The severity of self-harm doesn't depend on the severity of a person's
underlying problems. Usually, as time passes, the person who is self-harming
becomes more accustomed to the pain they inflict on themselves and so has harm
themselves more severely to get the same level of relief.
This spiral can lead to permanent injury and serious infections.

How common is it?
About ten per cent of admissions to UK medical wards are as a result of
self-harm. Women are at the most risk of self-harming between the ages of 15 and
19; men, between 20 and 24.
Women have higher rates of self-harm than men.
Methods of self-harm vary, but the majority of hospital admissions are for drug
overdoses - only five to 15 per cent are caused by cutting.
These figures probably hide another group of people who regularly self-harm to
relieve stress. These people have usually found ways to keep their problem
hidden and, when they do harm themselves badly enough to need treatment, will
often have a story prepared, or will not seek help at all. The result can be
permanent disfigurement or a serious infection.
About half the men admitted to hospital for self-harm and a quarter of women
have drunk alcohol in the hours beforehand. This is a very worrying figure. A
person who has taken a drug overdose runs the risk of the drugs interacting with
the alcohol. Both tcould become more potent when mixed, with tragic
consequences.

Self-help
Most people who self-harm want to stop hurting themselves and they can do this
by trying to develop new ways of coping and communicating. However, some people
feel a need not only to change their behaviour but also to understand why they
have resorted to harming themselves.
There are a number of techniques that can reduce the risk of serious injury or
minimise the harm caused by self-inflicted injury. This list is not exhaustive -
different people find different things useful in various situations. So if one
doesn't work, try another.
• Stop and try to work out what would have to change to make you no longer
feel like hurting yourself
• Count down from ten (nine, eight, seven)
• Point out five things, one for each sense, in your surroundings to bring
your attention on to the present
• Breathe slowly - in through the nose and out through the mouth
If you still feel like cutting, try:
• Marking yourself with a red water-soluble felt-tip pen instead of cutting
• A punch bag to vent the anger and frustration
• Plunging your hands into a bowl of ice cubes (not for too long, though)
• Rubbing ice where you'd otherwise cut yourself


Sources of support
If you're nervous about seeking professional help and wish to remain anonymous
it may be a good idea to contact the Samaritans or LifeSIGNS.

Self-harm theories
A lot of people say they start self-harming behaviour in childhood, disguising
scratches and bumps as accidents and progressing to more systematic cutting and
burning in adolescence.
There are different theories as to why people self-mutilate. One is that because
victims of childhood sexual abuse were forbidden to reveal the truth about their
abuse, they use self-mutilation or self-cutting to express the horror of their
abuse to the world.
Another theory is that sexual abuse in early childhood leads to extremely low
self-esteem. If very low self-esteem develops, self-harm as an expression of
self-hatred is understandable.
One research finding is that self-harmers tend to grow up in an 'invalidating
environment' - one where the communication of private experiences is met with
unreliable, inappropriate or extreme responses. As a result, expressing private
experiences is trivialised or punished.
The problem with these theories is that (in the case of the sexual abuse theory,
for example) not everyone who's been sexually abused starts to self-harm, and
not everyone who self-harms has been sexually abused.
Another theory is that self-cutting triggers release of the body's natural
opiate-like chemicals to reduce the pain. Perhaps self-cutters have become
addicted to their body's heroin-like reaction to cutting, which is why they do
it again and again. They may also experience withdrawal if they haven't done it
for a while.
Drugs used to treat heroin addicts may behelpful with self-cutters, but mostly
for those who describe a 'high' after they've cut themselves.
Another theory, which inpatient units often use, is based on the psychological
principle that all behaviour has consequences that are somehow rewarding.
Cutting usually leads to a sequence of behaviour - increased attention, for
example - that may become the rewarding reason to repeat the behaviour.
Staff in specialist units are specially trained to ensure that no consequences
follow from an episode of cutting that could be rewarding. Instead, when the
patient stops cutting themselves they're rewarded with increased attention from
staff."



At the end of the day the only answer is inner healing from God but
unfortunately many of these people are not saved and those who are may be afraid
to seek help because they are afraid of rejection or condemnation especially
from other Christians. I make this statement because of my personal experience
of rejection and condemnation when certain behaviour problems in me was
revealed.

Only a very low percentage of people do get help and it is very sad.

I suggest we all pray for God to reach out to every person in need, through the
hands of His children nearest to them.

Blessings

Thank you sister ,Ann

God bless you trulyblezzed for your input.

 

[lettheredeemed]

"I have THREE cutters in my youth group (and those are just the ones I KNOW about) and they all tell me they cut for the same reasons... they are hurt inside, alot of times they cut out of anger and some of them cut because of self hatred."

Whatever the reason this practice was never encouraged in scripture.

Check our Leviticus 19