Is Miley Cyrus Cutting Herself?

Oh no. New photos of Miley show marks on her wrists that look like they could be cutting scars. We hope she’s not hurting herself, but four experts we consulted with agree that she may be cutting.

Miley Cyrus is looking great these days in between her pilates work-outs, but close-up photos of her wrists have raised serious concerns. The photo above of Miley walking her dog on April 2 looks like she has scratches on left wrist that could be scars from self-mutilation. We really hope that’s not the case.

“Based on the picture alone, those do look like cuts.  The location (on non-dominant arm, underside of forearm), the length of the cuts, the lines of the cuts, and the spacing all appear to be self-inflicted injuries,” says Lori Vann, Lic. Professional Counselor Supervisor in Dallas and nicknamed “Guru of Self-injury.”

And three other experts who often deals with victims of self-harm agree. ”That looks like self-cutting,” says Dr. Jeff Gardere, chief contributor to HealthGuru.com. “It looks like it, we don’t know for sure, but it looks like old scars.”

“It looks like she has been cutting,” says Dr. Gilda,of Dr.Gilda.com, the 30-second therapist on Today.com, who does not treat Miley.

“Since we have not met  Ms. Cyrus, All we can say is that the injuries in the picture are consistent with other self-injurers that we, at S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® have treated,” Wendy Lader, President, Ph.D, M. eD, of S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES, an organization that provides help to end self-injurious behavior.

But why would Miley, who has so much positive in her life, be cutting herself?

“Why do girls do this? To take control over their lives when they feel their lives are out of control,” Dr. Gilda tells us. “Some women think that they deserve to bleed because they’re not in control of their lives.”

Of course, we don’t know that is for sure what’s going on, but we are very concerned. We hope stress isn’t leading Miley to self-mutilation. If Miley is blaming herself for anything — even the separation that her parents, Billy Ray and Tish had —  she could take it out on herself.

And she wouldn’t be the first young Hollywood star to engage in self-harm — her friend Demi Lovatowas hospitalized in November 2010 for cutting herself and having an eating disorder. Dr. Gilda says she has seen friends copy friends when it comes to self-destructive behavior.

“I have seen girls mimic one another when it comes to cutting and to developing eating disorders and other things that seem to be fads for them,” she says.

Hollywood has seen other stars admit to cutting themselves including Angelina Jolie ,Megan Fox, Christina Ricci,Courtney Love, Amy Winehouse,  and even Princess Diana, admitted to cutting. Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard has just published a book called, In The Water Where You They Can’t See You Cry, in which she chronicles her struggle with cutting and bulimia.

Miley’s rep told HollywoodLife.com “there is no truth to the story.”