Open wounds OR bandages?

Which one is worst for others to see......the wounds or bandages covering the wounds?

Say you go to work or school...and you come with cuts all over your arms..or maybe burns....would you rather hide them with bandages or just the open wounds?

What if you have to wear short sleeves...and you must...you cant wear long sleeves...and you have cuts all over your arms?
Would you just go in with the cuts?
Hide them up with coverings and bandages?

Which do you think you would gets ?S with?

When I go in with news cuts...I feel a little more ashamed cause its like there out in the open BUT if I cover em with wraps and what not its easy to make up a story.

UGH but every stort gets old after a while

"I got burned by the iron"
"cat scratched me"
"I was doing yr5ad work and got cut up by the weeds"

bla bla bla

I think deep down if we honestly didn't want people to see the cuts ....wouldn't we cut in a place were no one could see the cuts? Or is it the idea of cutting your "wrist"? Do you think it's the idea that deep down we want someone to reach out to us and help us? Not freak out or lecture or yell at us....but see the cuts and flat out get us help and help us to stop? Sort of like a cry for help that we are too afraid to just flat out ask for but maybe if someone sees the cuts they will know exactly what our pain is and they will just intervene and get us the help we so desperatly need but are too afraid to ask for? (sorry...I keep saying "we"....I am not currently a cutter....I used to cut in my teens and early 20s)

I'm throwing this out there as a question ...not implying it's true for everyone.

Now to answer your question.....part of why I didn't want to bandage my cuts back when I cut....part of it was what I just wrote above....part of it was a need to see the damage I did....another way to deflect from the emotional pain....well and sometimes what I did....I cut back in the late 80s and early 90s....wide watches were a popular fashion!....so I would cut on my wrist and then wear my watch right over the cut marks...nice and tight. No one could see them...and at the same time I was adding more pain to injury. Served double duty. Every now and then if I went on a cutting spree during a class....well then I"d have to deal w/ remarks from friends or classmates that didn't understand....I hated that. Wasn't the "attention" I was seeking. I wanted someone to care and understand. I wanted my pain to stop....I didn't want ridicule! So I really didn't care for my cuts to be too visible. Well...and if I cut anywhere where my friends could see....that meant my parents could see as well and I didn't want that either. so I was very careful where and how I cut or burn.

It depends on how bad they are. But id have to say bandages

Thank-you for the replies.

I cut, not as the form of attention seeking either.
Its like...my whole mind is confused.
I tell myself DONT CUT WHERE THEY CAN SEE
but deep in my head, I want people to see........then they do...then Im full of shame again.

Then if I do cut on my stomach or somthing and someone really upsets me, Im almost like......want to pull up my shirt and say..look at this...look at what you do to me.
Even though I know its not their fault...I just get so emotional.
Most of the time Im "careful" but cant help when I get a little nuts once in a while.

It is that I want people to help me...even though its not a cry for help.
I just want peopel to know what I have been through....am going through...feeling ect....just if they understood.

Yet if I didnt cut...what would there be for them NOT to understand about me?
Because like evn now, they think Im so happy...perfect life.
So its almost like teh cuts are somthing to fall back on....ugh
Im so confused at myself


Thanks again

<cough> hello

I used to wear long sleeve shirts, and tensor bandages.

I never wanted anyone to see. I enjoyed being numb. I crave it sometimes, but I am sure glad I've been able to stop- I can wear short sleeves again! It's been 2 years since my last cut Go me!

That's a hard question to answer. When I would self harm I would wear long sleeves cause I didn't want anyone to know that I was doing it. It was humiliating and embarrassing.

I wouldn't be so worried about what others think at this point. I would just get some help with whatever makes you feel like you have to hurt yourself.

Ebony

collegepunk2007 wrote:I wouldn't be so worried about what others think at this point. I would just get some help with whatever makes you feel like you have to hurt yourself.

i agree with that!

self-injuring should not be considered just a part of your lifestyle that you have to *cover up* in order to go about living your life like a normal person. it's an indicator of a more serious problem that requires immediate attention. in order to stop the self-destructive behavior and kick the habit, you have to address the underlying issues. what other people think is irrelevent.

::hugs::

erin