Quote:
Originally Posted by Twitch99
The way I cope when when the crap hits the fan is I cut. "That's bad. You don't need to cut. You need to find different coping mechanisms." I hear this all the time when it is discovered I cut. The arguments are always the same and my rebuttal is the same. Yet in the end no one can answer the question of why is it bad?
"The open wounds can get infected."
I don't cut deep enough to leave open wounds. (Trust me on this one and don't judge me please. PC does not want me talking about specifics and I want to respect their rules.)
"You will leave scars"
No I don't but even if I did it is on places that are covered.
"Do you feel like you have to hide it? Then that should tell you it's bad."
I feel like I have to hide my depression, suicidal ideation, and multitude of other problems. Yet I am told I shouldn't be ashamed of that.
"Well you just shouldn't. You should find better coping skills." Why 75%-90% of the time this works?
Now that we have gotten those arguments out of the way can you tell me why it's so bad?
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I agree with eskielover and others that you are fooling yourself that there is no risk for infection or scarring. That's factually untrue.
However, as someone who self harmed myself, the real reason I quit was to avoid hospitalization and over-reacting doctors. So you want to know why to quit? Honestly, you will be judged and hounded and involuntarily committed probably more than once if you ever have to go to an ER for anything and have an open wound. The damage this can then do to the rest of your life is huge. So, yes, this reason has to do with the way society treats it, but the fact is that it is the way our society deals with it.
You are abusing yourself. If you were to say "I hit my husband so why is that a bad coping mechanism?" It would be obvious, right? Hurting another person is not a good way to cope. Neither is harming yourself. It may help in the short term, but it's like an alcoholic saying they know what they're doing. They dont. You will need a stronger and stronger hit, over time, to get the fix you need to feel better.
We all have bad coping mechanisms on some form or another. No one is perfect. I am just sharing with you, through my own experience, how self harm can do big damage to your life. If you dont want to stop then dont. That's up to you. But also try not to be surprised when the nurse practitioner has you committed involuntarily. It's highly likely. That's enough of a reason to find other coping skills, at least for me it was.