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showing my cuts in public

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by Asterac22, Mar 20, 2016.

  1. Asterac22

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    Basically i spent a few months at the end of last year cutting myself after quite a lot of emotional issues and stuff, i finally stopped just before Christmas but still have the scars to show, i would really like to get my arms out in summer and not have to hide away and was just wondering has anyone else got to this stage and how did you manage to be able to i spoze not care enough that you can do it.
     
  2. TwitchyTurtle

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    I started wearing bracelets and bands try charity bands or something to cover them until they were faded enough to just put makeup over them.Stay Strong c:
     
    #2 TwitchyTurtle, Mar 20, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2016
  3. Aberrance

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    I got to the stage of being able to show the scars on my arm maybe 2/2.5 years after I started self harming baring in mind I was still struggling with relapsing a lot then (haven't gotten to the stage where I don't care about my thigh/stomach ones but luckily I don't show those parts of my body off so we're good). It takes a while to gain the confidence to completely not care but you'll get there and you end up forgetting completely eventually. Its been 5 years since I started harming and my arm scars don't even really bother me anymore, only a few people have brought them up in that time and you just brush them off and change the subject or if you somewhat trust them just say "I went through a tough period, I'm fine now though". You make it out to be a much bigger deal in your head than it actually is so just keep that in mind.

    The above poster mentioned make up and that never worked for me. I brought proper scar makeup which cost me a fortune so I'd have the right pigment and although it dulled them a little you could still see some shine from the bigger scars.
     
    #3 Aberrance, Mar 20, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2016
  4. rhapsodic

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    After I first started cutting myself, it wasn't until two years after that I was able to confidently wear short sleeves in public. I still had faint scars and I was terrified that people might still notice them. The thing is, I was so paranoid, but it wasn't actually that bad. People don't look at your arms as much as you think they do. And even when they do notice, a lot of the time they don't bother asking, either because they respect that it might be uncomfortable for you to talk about, they're shocked or intrigued, or maybe they're self harmers themselves (or know somebody who is) and they know how awful it feels to be asked about them. After I became more okay with having my scars out in public, I would just wait a couple of weeks to about a month to wear short sleeves again because I realized that people don't notice, don't ask or don't care. Even when I physically see people looking at them, they generally don't ask. I think I've only been asked twice out of all the times people have noticed - the first time was someone who was genuinely concerned about my wellbeing and were very empathetic and wanted to make me feel better, and the second time (thank god it was the only time this ever happened) was because that person had the specific intention to make me feel uncomfortable and ashamed.

    Long story short, having your scars out in the open is not as bad as it seems. I guarantee you think they are so much more noticeable than they actually are.

    Anyway, I'm glad you were able to stop. Good luck and stay strong. :slight_smile: