Covering scars all the time?

[graciesings]

I recently moved in with my grandmother and she has asked about the SI scars on my forearm twice. I DON'T want to tell her how they got there. She is the kind of person who would not understand - she'd probably say you're crazy/why would you do that/that's stupid/why would you want to make yourself look uglier.

Well... the last time I felt like I had to hurt myself I cut on my leg instead, but that doesn't solve the problem.

What should I do? I really don't want to tell her that I've cut myself. But how to cover scars all the time, in the summer? I only have 2 or 3 long sleeve shirts I can bear to wear in the summer. I have tried to just keep my forearms out of her sight but she sees them anyway when I do things for her like hand her a glass of water! I don't really want to wear makeup on my arms all day every day! Ideas? What should I do?

 

[pillywiggin]

If the scars aren't too high up, you might try thick bracelets, but covering the scars now really isn't going to help. Your grandmother knows they are there, whether she sees them or not. I know you don't want to tell her that you cut yourself, but maybe that is the best thing that you could do. You can't live your life trying to hide what you've done in the past; it is exhausting. You can't change that you have scars, but you can accept them. It is much harder to stop or resist doing si when you hate yourself.

Your grandmother might be more supportive than you think. She might already know, and be looking for a way to initiate a conversation to show you that she supports you and loves you.

The opposite may be true as well. When I told my mother about my si and ed, her only comment was, "You know better than that." It was tough to take, but from then on I knew that I was not going to receive any support or assistance in dealing with these issues from her. I didn't have to keep guessing and hoping that she would support me or help me find therapy--I knew I would have to find my support and assistance from others.

I know this is a wishy-washy answer, and not very helpful, but I am praying for you to overcome this.

 

[explodingboy]

Currently I'm in a very similar boat, 13hr shifts at work in a room to warm to wear a long sleeve shirt under my uniform. Not tried the make-up option but its also not allowed at work.

Its a lovely catch 22, anything I can wear on my arm to hide them simply draw more attention to my arms.

 

[chrisstavrous]

I recently moved in with my grandmother and she has asked about the SI scars on my forearm twice. I DON'T want to tell her how they got there. She is the kind of person who would not understand - she'd probably say you're crazy/why would you do that/that's stupid/why would you want to make yourself look uglier.

Well... the last time I felt like I had to hurt myself I cut on my leg instead, but that doesn't solve the problem.

What should I do? I really don't want to tell her that I've cut myself. But how to cover scars all the time, in the summer? I only have 2 or 3 long sleeve shirts I can bear to wear in the summer. I have tried to just keep my forearms out of her sight but she sees them anyway when I do things for her like hand her a glass of water! I don't really want to wear makeup on my arms all day every day! Ideas? What should I do?

Accept your got scars.