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Cutting: a Growing Trend among Teen Girls

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McKenzie was a good student. As a high school junior, she was active in sports and clubs at her high school while still managing to maintain a nearly perfect 4.0 GPA. Her parents were proud of her hard work, and her teachers and coaches loved her dedication and responsiveness. But McKenzie was stressed beyond the breaking point, suffering from feelings of burnout, worried that she wouldn’t be able to keep it up and would end up letting herself, her parents, her teammates, her teachers, and her coaches down.

One day, she tried something she’d heard other girls were doing. She snuck a sharp, small knife from the kitchen and took it to her bedroom. After rolling up her sleeve, she slid the knife blade up the inside of her arm—just hard enough to draw a bead of blood. She stared, fascinated, at the blood while enjoying the sharp burn of the cut itself. It felt somehow relieving. She was hooked.

Justice battled with depression during both junior high and high school. Now a senior, Justice found herself with few friends (whom she didn’t consider much more than acquaintances) and a fear of trying new things. She felt like life would end up being more of the same year after year, with nothing to look forward to. She started cutting in order to feel something other than the vicious self-loathing that seemed to be overwhelming all of her other thoughts.

Cutting—using a knife blade, razor, or other sharp tool to slice through the skin—has become a growing concern for teen therapists for several years. Some have likened cutting to previous generations’ battles with anorexia and other eating disorders (which is still a battle many teen girls face).

While teen boys have also become addicted to cutting as a form or relief from overwhelming negative feelings or a way to feel anything at all when the cutter feels numb, teen girls make up the vast majority of dedicated cutters. The reasons girls and boys begin cutting themselves are as varied and unique as the children themselves, though general reasons are to feel something—anything—when everything inside is numb or to be distracted from overwhelming negative feelings. Cutters can be outwardly successful or obviously depressed. There are no rules.

Persistent cutting always points to an underlying and unresolved mental issue that needs to be addressed. The hard part is figuring out when teens are practicing this self-destructive behavior, as teens will usually go to great lengths to hide the behavior from parents or friends. Parents may notice unexplained scars on the arms, legs, or torso, which are normally hidden under clothing. Teens will often make up excuses for the scars, claiming to have fallen or to have been scratched by a pet or tree or something else innocuous.

 

If you are a teen girl or boy who has considered or has become addicted to cutting, or if you are the parent of a teen you suspect is practicing this self-destructive behavior, contact Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute today to learn more about our adolescent programs. Visit our Homepage or call 512.819.1100 today for a free and confidential assessment.