How do you feel about your scars?

tips on how to cope: dealing with your feelings, dealing with the consequences of self-harm in your life. share your ideas and maybe pick up some new skills, too. you don't have to want to stop to learn something new here.

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carr
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Post by carr » Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:47 pm

I don't care if strangers see my scars but I feel ashamed when friends catch a glimpse. When I'm in public alone I usually carry around a sweater incase I see someone I know.

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Post by Quiet little Angel » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:48 pm

i like the way they look... still i hate them...
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Post by mia_k » Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:27 pm

i never show anyone my scars, they cover both arms from top to bottom and both legs down to my knees, i feel ashamed of them in the summer when everyone is wearing vests and im in my long sleeves and trousers but when im alone i dont mind them so much so i guess it just depends on my mood.

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Post by SarahBee » Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:31 pm

I'm petrified that someone will see them, especially in my family. I wear long gloves all the time, and my parents think it's just a 'fashion statement.'

The few friends I have that know me well enough are probably suspicious (I know they were at one point), but no one has said anything to me.

As for what I actually think of them? I don't mind them if I'm alone, but I hate that they're so obvious and make such a statement about me, because mine couldn't pass for accidental scratches.
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Post by beautiful_facade » Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:45 am

They've stopped me from accepting my 21st birthday present...a holiday wherever in the world i want to go...
i pretend i have accepted them, even to myself
But i hate them
They cover almost every inch of my skin and i don't really know how to cope with them
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Post by syn » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:59 am

I am lucky and most of mine are hard to see, though when summer came some of my last hadn't finished healing yet. I was petrified, especially considering the field that I work in of exposing them, but finally I did and no one noticed or cared.

I still feel embarassed going to the beach or swimming with friends because like others have said, they just know. But I'm getting over it because I realize that it's a part of myself, and I have to except them as a part of me.

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Post by black_23 » Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:35 pm

This weekend I decided to be brave about them and took off my wrist band where the worst ones are, when we were out. I decided to try and not care, its part of me and I can't take it back. I don't like them, but as they fade I find I miss them... :-?
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Post by Uhlisuh » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:48 am

I'm a bit of both.

Alone, I love to look at them. I think they're beautiful. They're who I am. I take photos of them and count until it gets too confusing.

But, other people don't know. And I don't want any of my reality to find out. My family, my friends. None of them know. It's easy for me to hide since I SI on my leg so I can wear pants. But lately, my sister has been trying to get me to wear short pants. Some of them are fine when I'm standing but when I sit, the material goes up and you can see so I have to sit on my leg. Others though are too short standing. It's horrible telling her "No, I don't like these ones" when she's trying to buy me super cute short pants.

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Post by barnabygirl » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:43 am

i keep changing my mind about the scars.. i want them to go away,, yet i want them being there,,
but its not abut the scars,, its about the blood,, and my worst SI dont really make scars,,

when im not in school i dont give a ** about my scars and go around in singlet,, im really tan now and my purple scars only shows cuz of the bump,, but u have to really look now,, the ones on the back of my arm are quite white,, and im white there too soo.. but they show, and sometimes ppl look,, and i pretend like nothing,,
i have no i dea what to say if they ask, but most norwegians are to wimpy to ask anyway...
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Post by Star Bright » Sun Jul 23, 2006 6:45 am

My scars don't define me, they aren't who I am. I have a few scars on my arms and one particuarly vivid one. I hate them being noticable as a student nurse you I feel judged by them. My friends don't really know so they just attribute them to something they aren't comfortable about talking about. My friend who does know, I think it worries her more than anything and I hate that. I wish I hadn't done anything to my arms. I recently spent two weeks in Barbados trying to hide the scars on my legs, my family don't know, and the hand full of times that I did go swimmimg I wore long shorts over a tankini- never again.

I was paranoid that my family would see them. Yes the scars are a part of me, and my life but that doesn't mean I'm ready to handle others seeing them or questioning them. They show that I have survived what has been thrown at me, but they aren't me. I want to be know as Jemmy first before being a SI, it;s what I do, not what I am.

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Post by moo-moo » Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:38 pm

i am really confused about my scars sometimes. I like to look at them in private and see the real beauty of them. i don't really own alot of long sleved t-shirts, so when i do sm, i end up having to put cover up on them which sucks because you can totally see the discoloration. My whole entire family ended up know about my sm because of a drug overdose. talk about the whole world knowing. i was so ashamed and embarressed. they were giving me all of this sympathy and treating me like a baby. I didn;t want sympathy, i wanted people to understand me and understand the problems that i am going through. I was over at my best friends house and i had just sm, so i was all parnoid about changing. so i was changing in her room,( she was not there at the moment) and she totally walked in on me putting on my pants. she saw my sm all over my legs. she started freaking out and it ended up that she told her parents. so they are now all parnoid about me. My parents already know, but they think i have stooped. long story. tell you guys some other time. :1soothe: :1soothe: :Fade-color
Last edited by moo-moo on Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by leemc77 » Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:27 pm

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Post by conversegrl99 » Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:02 am

my scars are many and im learning how to not be so ashamed of them and learn to live with them because they are a part of me wheather i like it or not. they dont define who i am or what i stand for because im also learning not to sm anymore so ya. and i mean being an orthodox Jew that was so hard when my WHOLE community found out about it and also in camp. but thats 2 other stories.

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Post by half/hearted » Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:49 pm

It varies...some days I'm horrified by them, I want nothing more than to get rid of them. Sometimes I wear cover-up on them even though they're too small for anyone to notice...just because I myself don't want to look at them. Other times I'm obsessed with them, I see them like tattoos...beautiful designs on my body...which is strange. I'm not proud of them, and I'd be horrified if anyone found out.

I have only one that's in a "shape" and I obsess over that one, just stare at it, touch it, etc...it's a small heart (hope that's not too graphic) and the problem is I keep thinking it looks "lonely" and wanting to put another shape near it. Creepy, eh? But I can't help it...I just think about it...I was going to have a whole series of card symbols (heart, diamond, club, spade), because I love card games...but that seemed stupid and more "trendy cutting" than anything else.

I had drawn a star on my arm (in pen, as an attempt to alleviate cutting), but it just got me thinking that I could cut along the lines and have a star-shaped scar...

I think the scariest thing is I would like to have a star-shaped scar. :(
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