Is cutting a grave sin?

[chasingcars]

Is it a grave sin to intentionally hurt yourself with a knife, piece of glass, scissors etc.? So many people who suffer from mental illness do that (especially teenagers) and it can be very difficult to quit. Should cutting be confessed or is it “only” a venial sin that can be forgiven without sacramental absolution?

 

[ChibiViolet]

It is of grave matter, but in order for a sin to be mortal it also needs to be done with full knowledge and complete consent.

 

[Mary_Estelle]

This my opinion: It is a serious mental/emotional problem and one needs to seek professional care and counseling PDQ. It is not a question for CF, but for a Dr. who is qualified to handle such self mutilations. Seek help post hast. Peace.

 

[joeybaggz]

Is it a grave sin to intentionally hurt yourself with a knife, piece of glass, scissors etc.? So many people who suffer from mental illness do that (especially teenagers) and it can be very difficult to quit. Should cutting be confessed or is it “only” a venial sin that can be forgiven without sacramental absolution?

A question best answered by a priest. You do mention mental illness and the RCC holds that a grave sin (mortal) requires as the above poster stated, full knowledge/understanding of the nature and complete rational consent. The mentally ill generally are not considered capable of making complete rational judgments of such actions.

My:twocents:

 

[joeybaggz]

Is it a grave sin to intentionally hurt yourself with a knife, piece of glass, scissors etc.? So many people who suffer from mental illness do that (especially teenagers) and it can be very difficult to quit. Should cutting be confessed or is it “only” a venial sin that can be forgiven without sacramental absolution?

As Mary Estelle stated, if this question is a personal one, consult qualified professional medical help. And a priest would also be a good idea. God bless.

 

[tawny]

This my opinion: It is a serious mental/emotional problem and one needs to seek professional care and counseling PDQ. It is not a question for CF, but for a Dr. who is qualified to handle such self mutilations. Seek help post hast. Peace.

Well stated.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Self harm is certainly grave matter. As noted, whether it is mortally sinful may be mitigated by the fact that the mentally ill often lack full knowledge and deliberate consent. We can say that those who have such gravely serious mental health issues have a responsibility to seek medical help.

 

[egretps]

I believe any self-harm is a a cry for help.

Very rarely, some people purposely mutilate themselves for reasons such as self expression.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I asked a priest about this and he said if it was intentional than it is sinful. I am recovering cutter. I’m here to talk if you’d like to.

 

[on_the_hill]

Of course it’s intentional. But that’s completely irrelevant in this context. It’s an expression of serious mental illness. A person who cuts can be no more culpable than a person with depression who can’t get out of bed, or a person with schizophrenia who acts on the voices he hears.

 

[esieffe]

Like many things the Catholic “it depends” applies. Many people who cut themselves are abuse survivors, so there is the possibility of emotional issues that would mitigate the severity or gravity of this sin. The person behind any abuse is far more culpable.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Of course it’s intentional. But that’s completely irrelevant in this context. It’s an expression of serious mental illness. A person who cuts can be no more culpable than a person with depression who can’t get out of bed, or a person with schizophrenia who acts on the voices he hears.

For the record, I have diagnosed MDD (Severe, recurrent, without psychotic features) I get kind of sick of people assuming that those of us with mental health issues like me, having severe depression are not capable of controlling ourselves. I mean it’s a little bit harder but it’s not impossible OP asked a question, I gave an answer. I think that was really rude and totally uncalled for for you to say. I think you could have used a very different tone this is a person who clearly needs help and if you know as much about mental health as what you seem to imply then you should know what you say isn’t going to help with the way you said it. I do not mean to sound harsh but I’ve been there and I know a lot about it I even have a suicide in my family.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Like many things the Catholic “it depends” applies. Many people who cut themselves are abuse survivors, so there is the possibility of emotional issues that would mitigate the severity or gravity of this sin. The person behind any abuse is far more culpable.

Ditto. That being said if you are having issues with it, I still think it a good idea to talk to a priest about it and if you have a therapist obviously talk to them.

 

[coco2]

Anyone who is cutting needs some help. What God would want most is not to condemn someone for cutting, but to see them healed so they have no desire to cut. If it is you, ask someone to guide you towards help.

 

[victrolatim]

I have never had to deal with this particular issue, but I am afflicted with mental illness and depression and sometimes it can be very hard to deal with. I pray that the individual this affects will be able to find solid professional help and support. Speaking from experience it can be fatiguing to find the right therapist. You get tired of going from person to person and having to explain your life situation from square one each time. God bless.

P.S. When I first saw the title of the thread I thought the poster was referring to “cutting” as in “cutting” someone in line at the supermarket. If that was mortal I know a lot of people I ran into who should be in the confessional.

 

[angell1]

Like many things the Catholic “it depends” applies. Many people who cut themselves are abuse survivors, so there is the possibility of emotional issues that would mitigate the severity or gravity of this sin. The person behind any abuse is far more culpable.

and you could argue that the abuser sufferes from mental health issue as well so they are not fully culpable for their actions.

I am not trying to minimize mental health issues in any way, there are many people who suffer profoundly.

however, we have gotten to a point in society that nearly all sins or crime seem to be somehow excused away as psychological problems.

we seem to have forgotten that people have real free will and yes, it is a possibility that people commit grave sins and crimes fully aware of what they are doing.

and I think it’s unfair to those who have mental health issues to make it seem like they can’t control themselves.

 

[angell1]

I believe any self-harm is a a cry for help.

Very rarely, some people purposely mutilate themselves for reasons such as self expression.

when I was in high school, there are at least a couple girls that I knew of that did it because their friends were doing it or it was somehow cool. and they would boast of their injuries.

they tried to claim afterwards it’s because they were trying to redirect their emotional pain but it was pretty hard to believe. I’m not judging, or maybe they were lying because they didn’t want people to think they had psocological issues, I really don’t know.

it’s grave matter, mortal sin though, well we can’t know that

 

[on_the_hill]

For the record, I have diagnosed MDD (Severe, recurrent, without psychotic features) I get kind of sick of people assuming that those of us with mental health issues like me, having severe depression are not capable of controlling ourselves. I mean it’s a little bit harder but it’s not impossible OP asked a question, I gave an answer. I think that was really rude and totally uncalled for for you to say. I think you could have used a very different tone this is a person who clearly needs help and if you know as much about mental health as what you seem to imply then you should know what you say isn’t going to help with the way you said it. I do not mean to sound harsh but I’ve been there and I know a lot about it I even have a suicide in my family.

I fully understand your being upset, and I think maybe we’re misunderstanding each other.

But one question–where did the OP claim to be suffering from this problem?

 

[chasingcars]

I fully understand your being upset, and I think maybe we’re misunderstanding each other.

But one question–where did the OP claim to be suffering from this problem?

I haven’t suffered from this problem for years, the last time I cut myself was a bit over 5 years ago. I asked this question because a) I really want to make sure if it was a sin or not b) I still have scars on my arms and wrists and I’ve started to wonder if I should cover them when I go to church because they could possibly scandalize someone.

 

[Vonsalza]

Is it a grave sin to intentionally hurt yourself with a knife, piece of glass, scissors etc.? So many people who suffer from mental illness do that (especially teenagers) and it can be very difficult to quit. Should cutting be confessed or is it “only” a venial sin that can be forgiven without sacramental absolution?

For the people in that situation and any Catholic close enough to actually help them, this isn’t a relevant question.

A better one is “Hey, what can I do to help?”

I’ve never heard of anyone who stopped doing it because their understanding of the technical classification of self-harm as it pertains to the degree of sin was erroneous.