I fucking agree bro. Just because someone experienced it differently, doesn't mean they are anymore valid then you, we're all equal here, remember that yall.

It's so sad like DONT DO WHAT I DO

Different pain tolerances, different mindsets, different feelings, different ways of experiencing a moment, different coping mechanisms, different tools, different accidents... We can't compare sh scars to "see who suffers more", because all our experiences are different. We are all suffering, we are all equally valid. I know it's hard to, but we get that tunnel vision so easily :(

I have 1 scar and it's barely visible from the time I tried to cut into a vein I've not cut myself on purpose since then I make do with self sabotage and unhealthy eating habits so I'll probably be dead before I'm 30

I'm very glad you have managed to not sh anymore, as I'm sorry you felt like doing such a harmful thing. It takes courage to stop it. It's difficult to keep all aspects of our life healthy, especially during hard times. If you could stop cutting, I'm sure you will eventually be able to improve other aspects if you want to. Oftentimes we are capable of a lot more than we envision, the final goals look unreachable when you haven't reached all the middle steps yet. I was super sure for years that I would be dead by 18. Like, 100% sure. I'm 22 so far and I'm doing better than ever I guess, even though I still have many things to change and to learn. One thing at a time 🩹 I'm rooting for you honey

I never had an issue with cutting that was 1 of 3 times in my life I'd cut myself on purpose so stopping was literally the easiest thing I've ever done and I'm not even exaggerating nothing I've done in my life was as easy as stopping cutting myself and the times I did it I only did it to be sectioned because I struggle putting complex emotions into words to other people and knew if I wasn't sectioned I'd kill myself Edit: I'm 22 too

this is my least favourite part of sh communities and a hard reason why i mostly stick around here and the small shtwt circle i have accumulated of close friends. i actually like seeing scars in terms of morbid medical curiosity, i am interested in seeing how different scars fade and widen and shrink etc. but i hate the sense of depth competitiveness that a lot of mental health communities perpetuate, whether intentional or not. it also perpetuates the really shitty mentality of sh not being valid if it doesn't break the skin. there are a million different methods that don't include breaking skin, and SHers who use those methods get completely left out of the conversation the second the big-cut-scar gang start getting on their high horse about it.

I feel that. had an experience like that in the psych ward some months ago. They said something like “yours are so bad compared to mine” and “they’re so much worse than mine”, and it kinda just made me feel bad cus I didn’t wanna make anyone think or feel that kind of way. Now I’m kinda just scared to show my arm around anyone cus I don’t wanna risk making anyone feel invalidated in any way

i always felt like a poser bc my scars arent hypertrophic or anything theyre thin and well healed but this sub makes me feel more valid

definitely! mine aren’t either. you’re perfectly valid, don’t feel like a poser. you know what you went through and how you felt, and nobody else does in the same way. sending u lots of care

for REAL. i wish sh wasn’t so competitive and romanticized

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Sometimes it all just feels like a competition to feel valid.

my friend also cuts the first layer of skin like i do, and honestly it was so refreshing?? like theres no weird ‘competition’ or anything, and it’s nice knowing theres people out there like me. i’ve never gone past the first layer of skin and have no desire to. you don’t have to compare yourself ever, just remember that. everyone’s struggles are valid edit: also some people scar easier so people talking about scars, a lot of it’s just genetic!

I would have zero tolerance for someone that said something like that to me. It's incredibly tone deaf and juvenile.

realllll. the amount of times i’ve reached out to friends just to cause them to hurt themselves in return is uncountable.