Q: From a young age, I have been cutting my arms so that I can bleed. I am now an adult and cannot overcome this drive to see my blood. Thankfully, I heal quickly, but my arms are scarred. What can I do to stop this? Please help me.
A: According to Kabbalah, the need to see blood is an imperfection in the sefirah of hod. In the unrectified state of the sefirah of hod, blood can turn into a destructive force, thus the desire to cut oneself to see blood is certainly a destructive desire. The rectification for this imperfection is to constantly thank (from the word hod, in Hebrew) God, even for the most minor events in your life, as well as, of course, for major events. This begins from simply thanking God for every breath of life that He gives you. Thank God for giving you the will to get out of bed in the morning, for your family members, friends, beautiful things that you see during the day, for giving you artistic talent, and so on. It is also most important to thank the people in your life for every kindness, small and large. Work on this until it becomes part of your nature, and you will no longer feel the need to see blood.
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