Cutters and the self preservation instinct

Do cutters lack the self preservation instinct allowing them to cut themselves?

Short answer: no—people who self-harm don’t “lack” the self-preservation instinct. That instinct is still there. It just gets overridden or rerouted under certain conditions.

A clearer way to think about it is this:

• Self-preservation isn’t only about avoiding pain. It’s about reducing overall suffering. When emotional pain feels unbearable, the brain may treat physical injury as the lesser evil—or even as relief.

• Pain processing can change. High stress, dissociation, or numbness can blunt pain perception. Some people feel very little pain in the moment.

• The brain learns patterns. Self-harm can briefly release endorphins or create a sense of control. That relief teaches the brain “this helps,” even though it’s harmful long-term.

• Cognitive narrowing happens. In intense distress, the brain goes into survival mode and focuses on immediate relief, not future consequences.

• Self-directed anger or shame can flip the instinct. Instead of “protect the body,” the internal message becomes “punish the body” or “I deserve this.”

So it’s not an absence of self-preservation—it’s a misfiring of it under overload. Similar to how people might overeat, use substances, or stay in harmful situations even though they know it’s bad for them.

If this question is personal for you: you’re not broken, weak, or missing something fundamental. It says more about how much you’re carrying than about who you are.

If you want, I can explain this from a neuroscience angle, a trauma angle, or talk about how people rebuild safer self-preservation over time. And if this connects to something you’re dealing with right now, I’m here to listen. Make a comment or if you like to have a private talk with me email me by clicking on the email me button on the left hand side where it says "Contribute". All emails will remain private.

Source: Some or all of the content was generated using an AI language model