Cutters

[rJ_]

I teach math in highschool and the other day during lunch I had a girl come up and show me the reason she missed the day before. I knew she had missed for personal reasons but that was it. I didnt require her to give me a reason and didnt ask, but instead she initiated. She proceeds to roll up her sleeve and shows me where she was cutting the night before. It was all across the tracks so its not a suicide thing, but very disturbing none the less. I explained all about how im there to talk, blah blah, referred her to a counsellor, and talked to the counsellor my self.

For those who have any experience or knowledge on this. Is it just an attention thing or does cutting really stop their emotional pain?

Have cutters been around forever like 16th century cutters? Or is it like its got some mainstream attention in different forms of media so now they do it cause they saw it on TV and want the attention?

rJ