How do you view your scars?

[MattyD]

My scars are in an area that is not visible to others. I am not ashamed of them. They act as reminders to me of the pain I have felt. They are "stripes" similar to lashes as in being punished.

Overall, I never really think about them much until I am about to self-injure again.

 

[SplendidTree]

I haven't in almost 6 years. Honestly I hate them though. I have them on my left arm like tiny white lines. I feel like everyone sees them and hate wearing short sleeves. I feel like no one will hire me either even though I have worked with them prior. I think if I notice them more everyone else will.

I also have a few on my left ankle so I hate wearing skirts or shorts. I wish I would just get over it and like live normal. I am very ashamed of them and wish they'd just go away.

 

[AllGoodThings]

It's been a long time since I last cut. Probably about 11 or 12 years I would say. Mine are just white lines to as the above poster said. I think they tend to get like that after a while. I use to be a chef and I have worse burn scars on my arms so I just blame that.

I don't hide them though. I had a persona that had to run its course and scars are there as a reminder that life is better now.

 

[kdb890]

I cover mine, but I don't regret them. I see them as life scars, a journey, a time in my life where I learned things. I wouldn't be ashamed for people to see them. They show that I'm a survivor.

 

[New_Believer]

Sometimes I feel embarrassed because I don't want people to ask me about them. The scars don't bother me though, it's just that some people will assume things.

 

[honeyny22]

Don't even bother, everyone I care about knows about my scars and where they came from and anyone who doesn't, they'll just have to accept it, I guess. I don't feel the need to explain.

 

[Karpalokuu]

I do not cover them most of the time. Sometimes I even forget they are there.
Maybe there is something wrong with my head, but I just somehow can not think what other may think about them. Like I do not even think about that others think something about them.
It is weird, I know. But yea, I do not cover them.
and then I am always surprised if someone notices them.

 

[xnickyx]

My scars are apart of me - as others have said. They remind of the person I have now become - A Mummy and a Fiancee ♥ If I didn't stop when I did ... I would not be the person that I am today - I am grateful for what I went through because I came out the other side - Sadly, I am struggling with Post-Natal Depression and have caught myself trying again - But I realise what I am doing and stop - I promised my Fiance that I will never give in to it again - Not now that we have our baby boy ♥

 

[RETS]

I am not ashamed of my scars in the least, and I do have a couple doozies. There was a time when I covered up often, but no more.

About two years ago, a friend from church saw my scars as I was outside working. It was rather hot, so I was without a shirt. He approached me and asked about them. I was not as self-conscious as I used to be, but still found it hard to talk about. Nevertheless, I did open up and was completely honest.

Turns out that he had just recently stopped cutting about two weeks prior. The more we talked, the more I realized that without my knowing it, God had placed me there to serve as a testimony and an encouragement. (He's good like that!)

So now, I have no issues with it. I'll occasionally run into folks who will be demeaning, but that's their own issue- One they'll have to take up with God. As for me, I know Who I serve, and how I serve Him. This knowledge is why I cannot be ashamed.

"You've been set free, but remember your chains..."

 

[Solus Christus]

It depends. Sometimes I'm ashamed and don't want anyone to see them, especially if I've relapsed recently, but since they're on my legs and are usually covered up anyways it doesn't come up very often.

 

[Obzocky]

Most of them I view with regret, regret for doing it, for having such disrespect for the body I have been given, for doing it in those particular areas (I always feel people judge you more when you have scars in more visible areas, as if you did it so that everyone could see them), but that's silly talk as most of the scars on my outer arms are nothing more than silver lines, only really visible under certain light conditions or i'm tanned.

Generally though I look at them, or the area where I know they were once very visible, and I view how faded they are as a reminder that those feelings, they don't last forever, time goes on, new hurt comes but that too goes. Everything changes, everything grows, as they fade I hope the memories attached to them will too.

If i'm feeling really self conscious about them then I do cover them up with foundation, even if it's not really needed any more. If I put enough cover up over the area then I can forget they were ever there. I'd rather do that than have long sleeves to be honest, it's less eyebrow raising than wearing long sleeves in July.

 

[Sarah Morganti]

My cuts are all on my stomach so it's easy for me to cover them up but then its easy to forget they are there and sometimes I get careless about it and thats when people see. Like if I stretch my arms up or grab something high up and my shirt lifts up, people can see and then the awkward situation unfolds

 

[lonlygirl]

I have them high up on my left arm so they are easier to hide but I seem to be invisible in my own life so even if they were viable no one would see or care. I don't know I if prefer being invisible to being noticed but at least there are not as many awkward conversations.

 

[Dianna_Child of God]

I see my scars and want to just curl up in a ball and cry. I have them on my left arm and I have them on both thighs. I can never wear shorts. The worst scar I have says "HATE". That won't ever go away. My eyes fill will tears just knowing it is there.

 

[Lily76_]

We arent that bothered about our scars ...they are there for a reason in fact some of us like our scars and some of us want to make more of them.
But we try not to let that happen very often .

Asphyxia

 

[audrig]

I don't usually cover them or think about them really. I do get really self-conscious when I have job interviews tho and a bit self conscience when I am swimming. I have a giant scar on my thigh and an unusually wide one on my arm as well.

I havent had many people ask about it. I think they know it would be awkward. They are all healed up though & not much darker than the rest of my skin. When they were newer, it was much more awkward.

For me I imagine its a bit like having regrettable tattoos (although I have none). I wish they weren't there, but I'm stuck with them. So, I just live my life and try to ignore them.

 

[homeofmew]

Hard times that you were able to get over, but sometimes you have to hate them.

 

[Tenkuh]

I guess I am in the minority about how I feel about my scars. It's been a long time since I use to cut myself, over ten years or something like that. I did it in an odd spot- the palms of my hands and on my arms.

I've read by other people they feel ashamed of their scars, but I have never felt ashamed of mine. My scars use to bother me because seeing them tempted me to cut myself some more, but they no longer tempt me. It was not shame I felt by seeing them back then, but just a deep pain of sorrow and loneliness.

Nowadays when I see the scars though, I don't really feel anything imparticular at all. They are just a part of me like everything else. It's not something I think about very often, so I no longer cover them up at all.

 

[peckaboo]

My most visible scars are on my left wrist. I used to be embarrassed about them and cover them with bracelets and things, but now I'm more used to them and just see them as another part of me. Sarah Groves sings a song containing the line "and in Your hands, the pain and hurt look less like scars and more like character", and that really helped change my perspective on them. Sometimes people ask about them, which is awkward, and I just tell them "I did that a while ago with a piece of glass." They don't need to know the whole story. Sometimes they don't even realise that I did it deliberately.

 

[peckaboo]

For those who feel ashamed about their scars, it might be worth asking the doctor about a product called Haelan tape. It's a steroid tape that you wear on the scars for 12 hours a day for a few months, and it gradually makes them less visible. My doctor prescribed it to me when I told her my scars were still painful 6 months after the stitches had come out, and it's made a world of difference - they're no longer painful and they're significantly less visible (though they'll never disappear completely).