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Cutting is an extremely unhealthy way to deal with stress or other issues. Anyone who cannot stop cutting on their own should talk to a professional about it.

I agree with Nicolita & LorienLlewellyn~ it's a very unhealthy way to deal with anything, trust me, I've been there.

Some people may think the way you do, but trust me -I'm a recovering cutter- this is just something that would 'trigger' a cutter. I can't speak for all cutters, weather in recovery or not, but to me, its beauty, its my art work.

No, not at all. Art work does not consist of just smiley faces. Think of it as well, regular peices of art. Like paintings, tattoos, piercings, etc.

I could be wrong, but I don't think she means art in that literal of a sense. I think she's saying that cutters often feel almost artistic or sentimental about their cuts. The same can be true for anorexics and their visible rib cages. It's certainly not art that you'll find in a traditional museum, but they still often feel like it's something they created, something born of their passion, and therefore something that many of them are proud of. So to people with a healthy mindset, looking at pictures of cuts and scars might make them think, "Boy, I sure don't want to look like that." But to someone who's cutting or otherwise not in the healthiest of mindsets, they might think something more like, "Gosh, I wonder if I can get my cuts to look like that/I wonder if I can outdo her/That makes me want to show mine off/etc." In fact, a lot of controversial anorexic websites have been popping up over the years where people post pictures, compare rib cages, egg each other on, try to one up each other, etc., even though the pictures might look really unappealing to people who are not anorexic. So pictures of things like that can often do more harm that good.

Gotcha