How long will it take for a self-harm scar to fade? I think it was 2 mm deep. I really need to know. What can I do to speed up this process?
I have self-harmed on my forearm last year in February and March. My wounds varied from as shallow as your to cutting all of my layers of skin. I still have the scars, almost a year later, but some are more or less visible than others.When my mom found out she made me use creams to help the wounds heal, and it helped in scarring faster. I don’t know where you live, so I can’t search up something specific for you to use in this regard, but I’m sure there are some other ways to make them fade faster, one answer already put a link to help you with that.How to Get Rid of ScarsEasy Ways to Get Rid of Scars Fast | LEAFtvIt takes a long time for scars to fade, I have some that even after years and years they are as visible as day.I don’t know if I should make a photo of my scars to show you how much they fade in a year’s time, but if you ask I will edit the answer and put one.
Can wounds from cutting yourself be permanent?
Absolutely. It depends upon what you use, how deep it goes, and how well your skin heals. I scar pretty easily/badly, and serrated knife cuts on my legs going back up to 18–20 years are still somewhat visible. I was pretty haphazard due to anger and not bleeding easily. I also have a crosshatching of tons of small ones done with safety pins that run up and down my forearm vertically when I was 16–17, and diagonally when I was in my early twenties, which are different degrees of visible depending upon lighting. Also rows of dots from burning with a hot end of an unfolded paper clip under my left upper arm are still somewhat visible, and those are from about 17 years back. My last period of doing it was in my mid twenties, arms and legs depending on the situation/feeling, then isolated incidents here and there since, the last of which was 2 and a half years ago. I have a set of five done on my upper forearm with a razor from over seven years ago which are not only visible, but they still pop up. Two of the cuts didn't close for two days.This is probably something you don't want to explain in intimate and other situations for much of your life. It can also be dangerous if you cut too deeply, and can cause infections. It's addictive and prevents you from dealing with your emotions in a healthy and effective manner, and can get to the point where even years down the road, certain situations and feelings trigger you into doing it again. Get help before it becomes an ingrained behavior pattern.
How can I smartly cut myself?
Disclaimer: I don't think self-harm is a good idea and I'd advise you look for alternatives (Alternatives to Self Harm) but I'll answer the question.That's a terrible idea and I really would advise against it. Rubbing anything spicy into the wound is likely to get you an infection and if you're worried about scars, that's the worst thing you can do. Same with salt and acidic stuff. Stay out of the kitchen for this.If you want to minimise the scars, first of all, pick a good spot on your body, like your upper thigh. The skin there is delicate but it's hardly ever exposed in public. Keeping scars away from sunlight will help them heal faster and be fainter. Leave your arms alone.You also need to take care of them. Making yourself feel the most pain is not a good attitude to have when you're cutting, as much as you want to think that's why you do it. You don't deserve pain. I'll say it again: You don't deserve pain. Instead, if you want to cut, do it with a different mentality. Look at it as tool; expressing your feelings outwardly let's you take care of them.Disinfect the patch of skin with a bit of rubbing alcohol (not vodka or any other liquor). Then using a clean, sharp (that is, new) razor blade, make a superficial cut. And I mean superficial. Let it be for a couple of minutes and just let yourself feel it. Then, taking a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, wipe the wound clean. The alcohol will burn, which is probably what you want. As soon as the bleeding stops, put a band-aid or a gauze with some cloth tape over it. Taking care of the wound (taking care of yourself) is what is going to help you, instead of maximising the pain.Also, don't cut in the same spot twice or pick at the scabs. That will only make the scars worse. It's also better to make several shallow cuts than one deep one.You can message me directly anytime if you want any advice or if you need to talk. I'm not going to judge you or try to talk you out of it but I might be able to help. Please, take care of yourself.
Is there a proper way to cut yourself?
Everyone's gonna tell you not to cut. I know you can't listen. You're not there yet. That's ok. For now. So to answer your question: if you haven't started yet, you should probably start with something that doesn't cut deep. To get used to the scratching and the feeling. Also because if you cut yourself with a bobbypin you usually can't cut deep enough for scars, so if you decide you don't want to you won’t have ugly scars everywhere pretty. After you get comfortable with this get a razor. It's hard to cut deep enough to kill yourself or get stitches. At least in my experience. It will be hard to cut deep espec at first. Just try not to slice down really hard. Personally I prefer burning though. Lots of pain, smaller scars. But whatever you do, make sure you CLEAN them. You really aren't going to want an infection. Like seriously. And once you figure out that it's not worth it. That it will never take the pain away, talk to someone It doesnt have to be a shrink. Just someone you trust. A best friend. A parent. Priest. Scout master. I don't know. Just keep in mind it's not worth it in the long run.
I Cut Myself And My Mom Took Away My Blades. What Do I Do?
Instead of plaguing an asker with "omg u nd rehab," try to help them with the question that they asked. Kathleen is happy with her choice, and doesn't want to go to rehab or a mental institute. It's not up to a bunch of people on an online forum to tell her how to run her life. She asked "is it worth it." The answer to that question is only yes if you truly cannot live without it. Otherwise the scrutiny of your parents will become stressful as well. It's like when I gave up smoking. I felt so hollow without it, like I had nothing to do and my life was meaningless. I felt the same when I stopped cutting. They weren't big parts of my life but any kind of stress relief is ten times harder to get rid of than another habit. You rely on it. I would, on principle and out of experience, tell you not to. Being scarred physically can come back to haunt you. But a scarred relationship with your family is just awful. I am the voice of experience here :). I wish you the best of luck, and want you to know that I am always here to talk if you need help. Mandobobjet@yahoo.com. I also have Yahoo! Instant Messenger.
I want to cut myself. What knife should I use to do it?
Oh, another one of these questions.I won't tell you to stop, because you've made it clear you're going to do it anyway. But I will warn you that once you make that first cut, you are setting yourself up for even more misery.I won't lie. Cutting yourself can feel good for the first few times. But that good feeling won't last. One day, it won't feel good anymore, and you'll hate yourself for doing it. You'll want to stop, and you'll try, but a day or two later you'll relapse again and feel absolutely horrible for it. It's an addiction.I really recommend not doing this to yourself. It won't change the way others act towards you in any sort of positive way. All it did for me was make people not trust me and made me get committed to a psychiatric hospital.As for what type of knife to use? The fact that you're asking this on Quora tells me you're probably not impulsively hurting yourself because your emotions right now are that extreme. Someone who really has overwhelming emotion or self-hatred wouldn't care about what type of knife is best, they'd just grab a blade and do it. All knives are bad.Where? I mean, what are you trying to accomplish? If you're an attention seeker, cutting your face will land you in psych very quickly (happened to me) and you'll certainly get attention. Wrists scar badly and are easily noticed but if you mess up, you can possibly bleed out. There's going to be issues no matter what part of your body you decide to hurt. Again, I recommend cutting absolutely nowhere because it's a stupid thing to do. It will make your life get drastically more complicated and stressful. You will regret it one day. You might think you won't, but you will.Make the stupid decision if you want to; I can't stop you. But I promise you're accomplishing nothing by doing that.Edit: how is saying that self-harm is stupid violating BNBR? Fine, I'll change the wording.
What does it feel like to cut yourself? How did you feel before and after? Does it have positive or negative impacts on your life or people around you? With the mounting number of teenagers who cut themselves to relieve stress, I want to understand.
Before: I'm hurting so bad emotionally. I just want to free myself of my pain. I pull out a small, shiny object. A thumb tact. This will do, I thought.During: It will only be a small scrape. Then I start. I get caught in the rhythm of stroking my skin harshly with the sharp edge. I cant stop. I see it getting red. I see blood starting slowly ooze out of the wound, but i keep going. Striking my skin harder, faster. It's not me in control anymore. I can feel it pulsing. It's starting to swell. Redder and redder it gets, more and more blood starting to flow out. And yet I still continue. Harsher strokes still, the wound is widening now. I'm an outsider in my own body, watching these hands that are no longer mine tarnish my body. And suddenly, I stop.After: I close my eyes. I hadn't noticed that I was breathing so hard. I slowly reopen my eyes and look at the object laying in my hand, with a new reddish tint. Then to my fingers, also stained red now. And finally towards the new cut. It's ugly; red and throbbing, an inch long in length and about 4 centimeters wide. My lost feelings start to return with the pain pulsing from new incision in my body. I drop my weapon of choice, the thumb tact. I want to cry, to give up. The emotional turmoil inside me too much to handle. But i cant, not with others around, oblivious to what had just occurred. I keep my clothing away from the throbbing area and shield that part of my body. I put on a smile and pretend to be happy even though I'm clearly not. I want to scream, but i remain silent. Im broken inside, another piece had just chipped away, never to return and only to leave a scar. A line on my skin that will never leave me and be a constant reminder of my pain.There is both positive and negative impacts for me, as shown above. Positive would be that I can cope better and it removes my emotional stress. Negative would be that it hurts like fury and burns like fire. It makes me want to give up, but I can't. It also leaves a scar, a constant reminder of what i had done to myself and the pain I was feeling.As for the people around me, they don't notice and don't care. If they did then I wouldn't be doing this in the first place.
How does it feel when you cut your wrist?
You know that feeling when you finally get to pee after holding it in for what seemed like forever? Till you had to do the ‘pee dance’?That relief. The sensation of letting it all out, being able to feel something other than numbness.Depression is a funny little thing. It attacks you with so, so, so much. And then one day, you feel nothing. Nothing at all. Like a blank canvas waiting to be drawn on.So you paint lines across your skin.You feel a pinch. Blood oozes out of your fresh cut. Gosh, the weight is lifted off your shoulders. You want to paint more.And you do.More blood oozes out, slowly but steadily…You catch yourself in a trance. You realize your wrist is full of cuts. A thought like this may cross your mind: More… Where else can I…And something goes off in your brain. You're snapped back to reality. How am I going to hide this from my family/friends/loved ones?Then a pang of regret and guilt may hit you. You think about the faces of the ones who care about you when they see your wounds. Perhaps you panic, perhaps you fall into a deeper pit of helplessness.You go on the internet to search ways to conceal the evidence and you discover that there are so many others like you. Who are in pain. Who are suffering in similar ways. You are not alone.So you pick yourself up and clean the area. You somehow feel better. Slightly better.Then, a day passes. An event stirs you up and you feel ever so overwhelmed.Perhaps. Just perhaps, you think “I want to- No. I need to cut.”.Eventually, you find yourself covered in scars. You wish to stop, but cannot. One simple stroke led to so much more.Tl;dr: It only feels good in that moment, when you are so caught up in the act. Afterwards, I felt mostly regret.