[Lauren]

Also about those saying it's attention seeking - not entirely wrong. I imagine a lot of the time it is attention seeking.

Either in two ways; simply wanting to have attention, be in the spotlight, be bothered about.
The second way is you want attention because you want help, you live within your own mind and by cutting yourself and possibly showing your wounds you're hoping someone will see it and understand your suffering, without any words spoken. It's a cry for understanding.

Then there's the people that don't do it for attention. The ones that do it to punish themselves. If something happens in their life, cutting themselves is a coping mechanism. If you're hurting physically then it numbs the emotional pain. Maybe you cut yourself to remind yourself you're still alive and still able to bleed - because your life feels so dull and lifeless. Maybe you're so self critical you give yourself targets and without achieving them you cut yourself, because you're negative schema in the brain tells you it's YOUR fault and it's the only way you can seek revenge.

Typically these people cut their legs so they're unseen, or they hide their scars. These are the people we never hear about, because either they get help, 'get over it' or simply manage to hide it.