Cutting involves making repeated, intentional wounds to one’s own skin with a sharp instrument. It is the most common form of self-injury, and is different from a suicide attempt because there is no intent to die.

Cutting may be performed in an attempt to reduce emotional tension. The person performing the act may believe there is no other way to obtain emotional release except through drawing blood or feeling sharp, physical pain. A private act, cutting is usually performed when an individual is alone, and the resulting scars are hidden from others.

Those who cut themselves may also engage in other methods of self-injury, including hair-pulling, head-banging, punching, scratching and burning with cigarettes. Of these, both cutting and burning are considered methods of self-mutilation, a specific type of self-injury that involves the deliberate disfigurement of skin tissue.

Cutting is a serious, harmful behavior that usually appears in conjunction with mental illnesses including borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety disorders and psychosis.