Discussion How do you self-harm?

[pebpebpebpeb]

Im not specifically talking about the method, im asking how you clean up after, how do you hide what you did? I use tissues/tp/paper towels to make a bandage with some tape, then wrap it up in paper, then throw it away. I also use a big towel that i used to use for after showering to dab off the blood/ keep the floor clean while doing it.

 

[BitterlyAlive]

It depends on how long I just sit and zone out while I do it. If the blood has ended up drying/coagulatng, I use baby wipes to clean it up. Then I use saline, if I cut deep. If not I just use antibacterial ointment. Dab it on well, then cover with a bandage. Carefully discard the evidence of course.

If I only zone out for a few moments, it's easy. Clean up the blood with a paper towel (gently so I don't f up the wounds), hold a new paper towel over the wounds if needed to stop the bleeding, dab on saline/ointment, then slap a bandage on top. Carefully discard evidence.

Lol I guess I do a little prayer as I'm caring for the wounds. No one irl really knows I self harm so I'd rather not get an infection. Yikes.

 

[pebpebpebpeb]

It depends on how long I just sit and zone out while I do it. If the blood has ended up drying/coagulatng, I use baby wipes to clean it up. Then I use saline, if I cut deep. If not I just use antibacterial ointment. Dab it on well, then cover with a bandage. Carefully discard the evidence of course.

If I only zone out for a few moments, it's easy. Clean up the blood with a paper towel (gently so I don't f up the wounds), hold a new paper towel over the wounds if needed to stop the bleeding, dab on saline/ointment, then slap a bandage on top. Carefully discard evidence.

Lol I guess I do a little prayer as I'm caring for the wounds. No one irl really knows I self harm so I'd rather not get an infection. Yikes.

i have limited resources sadly since i live with my parents and they cant find out :(
i hope you dont get any infections, but your way of doing it seems pretty unrisky, so im glad youre safe from that :D

 

[BitterlyAlive]

i have limited resources sadly since i live with my parents and they cant find out :(
i hope you dont get any infections, but your way of doing it seems pretty unrisky, so im glad youre safe from that :D

I literally don't even have a bed or my own room, so I totally get you on the limited resources. Tbh I'm kind of stupid about it. My evidence is literally in a plastic grocery bag stuffed in my luggage until I fill it or the garbage is already full so I chuck the bag in and take it out. Uh, I dunno how I've gotten away with it. You'd think hearing a plastic garbage bag every other night would be suspicious but no one has confronted me on it. Meh.

It's much scarier with parents though. Is there any way you can keep some bandaids or something in your room? You'd have to pick a good spot though - my mom found a bunch of bandages in my bathroom earlier this year and I saw her search history on her phone was all "signs your child is self harming" and whatnot. I actually hadn't started cutting at that point. I just really like the specific bandages and wanted to have a stash of my own. Maybe some excuse like that could work? Sorry for rambling mate

 

[pebpebpebpeb]

I literally don't even have a bed or my own room, so I totally get you on the limited resources. Tbh I'm kind of stupid about it. My evidence is literally in a plastic grocery bag stuffed in my luggage until I fill it or the garbage is already full so I chuck the bag in and take it out. Uh, I dunno how I've gotten away with it. You'd think hearing a plastic garbage bag every other night would be suspicious but no one has confronted me on it. Meh.

It's much scarier with parents though. Is there any way you can keep some bandaids or something in your room? You'd have to pick a good spot though - my mom found a bunch of bandages in my bathroom earlier this year and I saw her search history on her phone was all "signs your child is self harming" and whatnot. I actually hadn't started cutting at that point. I just really like the specific bandages and wanted to have a stash of my own. Maybe some excuse like that could work? Sorry for rambling mate

well i have normal bandaids, like the normal rectangle-shaped ones. but i dont think they would be big enough or stop the blood from bleeding to my clothes
i cut deep which is a blessing to do, but a bit messy to clean up. i also just checked and im running out of tape which is irritating :(

 

[BitterlyAlive]

well i have normal bandaids, like the normal rectangle-shaped ones. but i dont think they would be big enough or stop the blood from bleeding to my clothes
i cut deep which is a blessing to do, but a bit messy to clean up. i also just checked and im running out of tape which is irritating :(

Ohhhhh I see. I'm sorry, the deepest I've gone is styro. I don't know how to treat any deeper than that :( Just take care and try to be safe, it can be risky!

 

[pebpebpebpeb]

Ohhhhh I see. I'm sorry, the deepest I've gone is styro. I don't know how to treat any deeper than that :( Just take care and try to be safe, it can be risky!

thank you, and to you as well :D

 

[selfhater]

i don't clean it i just let it mess up and put bandages on the ones that didn't stop bleeding so it doesn't stain my clothes

 

[garbagemonkey]

Burning myself is much less messy, plus easier to do in places covered by clothes

 

[selfhater]

Burning myself is much less messy, plus easier to do in places covered by clothes

how u do it if it's okay to ask?

 

[garbagemonkey]

I use a lighter, keep the flame going until the metal rim is real hot then hold it against my skin. How hot you let it get determines how bad a burn, plus the metal rim does cool off so can't burn way too deep

 

[bokete]

I just press an old white towel on my cuts then (maybe) put some band-aids on the deeper one, as it might reopen when sleeping. Recently I've been watching the blood flow and waiting it dry on my skin so it's a bit less messy. And after all that, I hide the towel until I'm alone to clean it (it's been a while haha).

 

[Klee]

I use dressings for cuts, the ones with the dressing part in the middle and the sticky around the edges are the easiest, it saves you messing around with tape. Don't flush them though, they clog.

 

[STK]

I don't do anything I'm supposed to. I suppose I should know better as a medical professional, but nope. I leave it. Zone out as stated in early posts, as it's the only few moments of life that feel slightly less messy then others. Ironic when I'm typically ruining another part of carpet while doing it.

I hardly ever dress the wounds, I hardly ever clean them straight after. I'm a disaster waiting to happen.

The sensible side of me does offer this though, paper towels aren't the most effective for stopping bleeding, their design is to absorb moisture, therefore often they limit the clotting ability. They also are mostly looser fibres so can fall apart and leave foreign bodies in the wounds. The optimum would be a lint free material such as cotton pads/dressings. Obviously this makes frequent clean ups more expensive and possibly harder to hide the used items, understandable that could be a draw back for many.

The main thing however anyone cleans up is just that, clean it up. Gentle soap and warm water go a long way for helping and covering the wounds over to stop anything catching and rubbing helps a lot for the healing process.

 

[serah]

I used to cut my wrists but it was quite hard to conceal so I moved over to cutting my thighs. I tend to just wipe off the blood with a paper towel or something.

 

[Sad_Autistic_boy_101]

I order plasters from online pharmacies. But I mainly use tissues and water and sellotape of the deep ones lol. I never get mine stitched though, I always just let them heal weirdly. I flush the tissues in the toilet and wash the blood from the sink and then wipe my laptop down because I cut over my laptop. I've become numb to is because i've been doing it for 8 years now.

 

[JustAnotherSuicider]

I just cut my self in places that can be covered with t-shirt and on the upper parts of the legs. During autumn/winter I used to do it on whole arm length, but now it's starting to get quite hot so I can't cover it with hoodie anymore.

And what to the process itself - I just wash it with hot water, and sometimes have to make provisional bandage when I cut too deep and there is a lot of blood.

 

[Darksektori]

I've used paperclips (no blood) broken florescent light bulbs, box cutter, tried burning but I hate blisters and dead skin. Sometimes it eases the mental pain but its different for everyone. Its usually what happens when you're not prepared to CTB but are desperate to feel anything but the emotional stress bombarding you.

 

[BridgeJumper]

Usually cutting with razorblades.
Giving myself friction burns by rubbing my skin with metal objects
Sometimes I hit myself with the wooden frames of the canvases I paint on to get bruises
Used to cut the skin off my feet till they bled but stopped that because Im scared of amputation
Last week or so I got drunk, stabbed myself with scissors and made a slit across my calf as deep as a razor would (wtf??)

 

[Krisian13]

Bit hard to clean up after my last one (Jan 2020). I was hoping to get sectioned - didn't happen.

 

[pebpebpebpeb]

Bit hard to clean up after my last one (Jan 2020). I was hoping to get sectioned - didn't happen.

jesus howd you do that? a knife?

Usually cutting with razorblades.
Giving myself friction burns by rubbing my skin with metal objects
Sometimes I hit myself with the wooden frames of the canvases I paint on to get bruises
Used to cut the skin off my feet till they bled but stopped that because Im scared of amputation
Last week or so I got drunk, stabbed myself with scissors and made a slit across my calf as deep as a razor would (wtf??)

i also cut the skin off my feet. using a saftey clip (ironic name) and some scissors, i never thought others did it though so its comforting to hear you do it as well.
one time it bled and i left bloody footprints on my floor so that was a fun time lol

 

[Krisian13]

jesus howd you do that? a knife?

Yeah. One hefty thwack with a chef's knife

 

[Soulless_Angel]

Not read all replies, I don;t cut deep due to people around me, I could rip badly, but I dont,
I cut enough to release shit, I then grab tissue to clean up, I make sure evidence is hidden, Its hard, the scars say otherwise, I wish to cut deeper, I know I can, but fear of repercussions hold me back

 

[Fullof pain]

Burning myself is much less messy, plus easier to do in places covered by clothes

I prefer to burn also, I prefer the sensation. I use cigarettes and stub them out on areas that can't be seen.

 

[Luchs]

Im not specifically talking about the method, im asking how you clean up after, how do you hide what you did? I use tissues/tp/paper towels to make a bandage with some tape, then wrap it up in paper, then throw it away. I also use a big towel that i used to use for after showering to dab off the blood/ keep the floor clean while doing it.

Make a few parallel incisions with a scalpel, not too deep as to not make scars, then I just blame it on cat scratches.

 

[jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj]

I don't cut but I punch my thigh. It doesn't leave any visible bruising so it doesn't need hiding or anything

 

[HappyMstake]

Back when I used to cut a lot I would always do it only in places that I could hide it easily on my wrist covered by bracelets and on my thighs not too deep but just enough. I always preferred to do it right before a shower so the cleanup wouldn't be as bad.

I haven't cut in a while, although occasionally I'll take a hair straightener to a butter knife or something similar and hold it there for like a minute and just burn myself that way. Burning is more satisfactory for me nowadays.

 

[Fenty(nal)]

I used to cut, then 2 years ago I got heavy into alcohol. Now back to cutting because the physical issues related to alcohol use have become quite painful (chest pain, etc).

 

[draw a circle]

Turns out as long as you don't leave typical vertical lines on your wrists/thighs nobody will notice it. I once bit my arm and hand so hard it bruised but nobody even asked why because my skin is tan and the bruises are hidden by it. I use my nails too on my arms, and punches my thighs until it bruises. I can see small, thin scars on my arms but nobody else could. I can't help you with the bleeding and all, just wanted to share. Good luck

 

[Alucard]

Scar, before.