cutters who have gone to therapy, how did your therapist react?

[Leonard_Bangley39]

I cut myself on both my forearms to cope with things. Maybe a week or 2 ago my sister who im staying with at the moment saw my scars and offered to pay for therapy for me. my family already knows about my suicidal ideation but only she knows about my self harm.

Im sure that there are plenty of therapists who specialize with different traumas and mental illness who have dealt with plenty of self harmers, but im still curious how most react when being told or seeing cuts.

 

[sanctionedusage]

well, if they institutionalize you for just thinking of how you'd kill yourself, then for someone actively cutting themselves open...

ime their only unique advice is to hurt yourself in ways that don't make them and other uncomfortable. exercise (ignoring the obvious potential for injury in someone emotionally distressed), the rubber band shit (no different than hitting yourself and bruising yourself that way), ice (another form of pain that doesn't leave a scar), etc. calling these 'harm reduction' methods is pathetic considering the vast majority of cutters are cat scratchers and there's nothing supremely dangerous about tiny cuts and scars, granted basic hygiene and general health, especially compared to unconventional forms of self harm like substance abuse (specifically alcohol/nicotine which DON'T get any nonconsensual intervention calls on them despite being extremely dangerous long term).


specialized therapists are no different nor 'safer' than non-specialized, it just tells you what bias you can expect for what they perceive as the 'root' of your issues. they're all still just strangers with egos big enough to think talking to someone with their severely moderated speech will be enough to treat their lifelong mental health issues & that their words alone are worth the unholy hourly rate.

 

[Leonard_Bangley39]

calling these 'harm reduction' methods is pathetic considering the vast majority of cutters are cat scratchers and there's nothing supremely dangerous about tiny cuts and scars, granted basic hygiene and general health, especially compared to unconventional forms of self harm like substance abuse (specifically alcohol/nicotine which DON'T get any nonconsensual intervention calls on them despite being extremely dangerous long term).

Hah, yeah. When i first started cutting a few months ago, it was all just cat scratches. No separation, i dont even think any visible scars. Then one time while cutting in the shower I hit my first styro and i was kinda fascinated. actually getting to see the skin visibly separate, and hwo it bled way more than the cat scratches. left really nice, wide scars after they healed.

I try to get wide separations like that but i subconsciously stop myself from pressing down hard enough to cut that deep half the time. Yesterday I was pretty distressed and was able to push down harder than i usually do and got around 10 really nice styros on my right arm. wide separation, cuts maybe 2 inches long. I really love just about everything about my styro cuts. seeing that weird, pure white look inside, seeing the blood leak out of the capillaries and fill the cut, the look of all the blood filling the cuts and dripping down, the way it glistens in the light. picking at the scabs a few days later (not really a self harm thing, iv'e just always picked at my scabs ever since i was a kid) and seeing the scars they leave behind once everything is healed. long, wide, dark pink scars.

am i weird?

 

[sanctionedusage]

am i weird?

no

anyway, the harm reduction i just mentioned is only applicable in cases besides dermis/babies. use your best judgment but dont expect a therapist to give you information you can't find online at a far lower risk. you can also research the same methods (as in dbt, cbt, etc) they promote to actually stop altogether, including getting your own education materials to figure out a plan that works for you if you'd like to try the famously studied therapeutic methods. the biggest benefit of professional therapy is having someone in your life that you feel cares about you and listens (even though it's manufactured); if that's not what you're looking for, you're going for the wrong reasons and honestly putting yourself at risk emotionally, mentally, and legally.