My self harm thoughts ramble

[twistedtransistor69]

I wish there wasn't a stigma around cutting yourself so that I could freely do it without worrying about people judging my scars.

You can drink, gamble and do drugs etc as ways of self harm but cutting gets a whole other type of judgement from people. It's so much more visible and visceral and attention grabbing and I guess that's the appeal for some people but I just wish I could self harm as much as I wanted all over my face and body, walk outside without covering it up and have nobody bat an eye.

I want to feel the relief of self harm again so badly but the scars are so embarrassing, I cant wear short shorts or tanktops anymore because showing my scars feels like I'm wearing a big sign that says "I am mentally ill attention seeker". I just wish people could view cutting like they do with drinking or drug use so I could do it without fear of judgement.

 

[DivineSpark]

I have had desire for self harm, but I dont want to attract attention of other people, especially when I go to the gym, sauna or swimming. Also, I cannot tolerate pain very well, so I cannot cut too deep.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

I mean, people still judge others for those things as well. The main difference is that you can also engage in those activities healthily to at least some extent, while cutting inherently involves harming yourself, which may explain the larger amount of stigma towards it. A lot of people who suffer from issues with gambling, alcoholism, or drugs are able to hide it more easily since doing those things in of themselves does not necessarily indicate any sort of potential underlying issues. This is especially the case with alcoholism, since drinking is already incredibly normalized, and many don't recognize the signs of alcoholism until they go overboard into non-functioning alcoholic territory. Cutting, and NSSI in general, just tends to be a much clearer sign of some sort of potential underlying issues and is harder to hide and poses a much more immediate health risk.

For context, I'm saying this as someone who has had issues with cutting before. Also, quick tip, if you want to wear tank tops, then try buying arm sleeves (assuming that your scars are mostly along your forearms).

 

[twistedtransistor69]

I mean, people still judge others for those things as well. The main difference is that you can also engage in those activities healthily to at least some extent, while cutting inherently involves harming yourself, which may explain the larger amount of stigma towards it. A lot of people who suffer from issues with gambling, alcoholism, or drugs are able to hide it more easily since doing those things in of themselves does not necessarily indicate any sort of potential underlying issues. This is especially the case with alcoholism, since drinking is already incredibly normalized, and many don't recognize the signs of alcoholism until they go overboard into non-functioning alcoholic territory. Cutting, and NSSI in general, just tends to be a much clearer sign of some sort of potential underlying issues and is harder to hide and poses a much more immediate health risk.

For context, I'm saying this as someone who has had issues with cutting before. Also, quick tip, if you want to wear tank tops, then try buying arm sleeves (assuming that your scars are mostly along your forearms).

I know people are still judged for alcholism and drug addiction and that cutting is immediately a visible red flag, I just wanted to post about my fantasy of being able to self harm freely. They are not on my forearms, it's my shoulder and upper arm but thank you, I will keep your advice in mind.