Is dragging a razor across your skin with no intent of actually slicing the skin still considered cutting?

I don%26#039;t cut exactly, i just repeatedly drag a razor against my upper thigh until i have raised lines and maybe a miniscule line of actual blood. The worst after effect is the stinging and there are generally no more than 20 but some as long as 8-10 inches. Is this considered cutting?





I%26#039;m scared, i know its cliche but its the only way to get rid of all the bad things, i%26#039;m 20 i really shoud be over this.|||Yup thats cutting|||Yes you do cut. This is the same as cutting. The fact that you are questioning this means that you want to feel better. You know that this can and probably will get worse. You are trying to protect yourself from yourself. Reach out for the help that you need. Don%26#039;t stay isolated.|||Yes. You are cutting. There are easier ways to deal with things. I know that sounds a little crazy right now. I know who well cutting makes everything. But it is so temporary. For a while I told myself I was just cutting to control everything. To keep my day to day life ok. It wasnt ok. My life fell apart again. You need to realize that it really isnt helping anything. You need to find better things to cope with life.


writing. exercising.


good luck. you have a hard road ahead of you. but your life and happiness is worth it!|||so, let me get this right, dragging a razor across your skin gets rid of all the bad things? Wow, no wonder you do this, quite a powerful tool huh? Something that is just as effective is putting a rubber band around your wrist and giving it a ping now and then... hurts just the same without the risk of infection or scaring.|||Yes, you%26#039;ll probably start cutting deeper eventually.





As for your age, what does that have to do with anything? The majority of depression sufferers are not teens and there is nothing immature about having mental health issues.|||I don%26#039;t think it really matters how anyone defines what you do, although there%26#039;s no way round the fact that it is self-harm. What matters is that you have found a way of relieving the awful feelings inside. This means that there ARE awful feelings inside and it might be good to find a less potentially damaging way of dealing with them, a way that would mean you didn%26#039;t have to feel so bad at all.





There is no reason why at 20 you should be %26#039;over this%26#039; - please don%26#039;t beat yourself up. I would guess that the root causes of the difficult feelings is way back in your childhood, and for many, many, people, it takes a long time before they are willing and able to look at these painful things. IF you feel ready - and there is no shame in deciding to put it off - you might think about entering therapy. Make sure you find a properly trained and qualified psychotherapist who is a member of a professional body (and thus bound by their code of ethics, committed to continuing professional development, etc). But if you decide to wait, just be really careful with your chosen method - watch for any sign of infection (get straight to a doctor) and if you find your method becoming more damaging to the skin, I hope this will alert you to the need to do something more active about sorting things out.





Be kind to yourself when you can - don%26#039;t beat yourself up about needing to do this as it%26#039;s a creative response to something extremely tough going on inside. Good luck!|||Yes, be careful. Go to a doctor (find one you can trust) and explain exactly what is going on. You may be prescribed a medication for anxiety to try and control any impulses. Be patient, the meds don%26#039;t always work right away and you may have to try a few different ones. Don%26#039;t give up. You just need to find a way to control the impulse to scrape at your skin.