To my fellow self harmers I just wanna say that small or cat scratch cuts do not mean you should be taken less seriously than people who cut deep. I myself struggle with feeling like my problems are less valid because I donāt cut deeply, but in all honesty small cuts are a hell of a lot safer and still give you that same relief. Cutting deeply really only presents more problems that will actually force you to go to hospital for risks of infection and bleeding out and/or lead to long term damage. Itās not cool to hit arteries or veins or anything like that because you actually risk fucking up that part of your body permanently, Iām talking nerve damage, loss of function, infection, death etc. Youāre better off just cutting through the shallow layers of skin, enough to bleed but not enough to sever something important.
At the end of the day this is an addictive behaviour but there are ways to indulge that will feel the same yet keep you safe. I think thereās a big misconception that self harmers either cut to actually die or for attention which just arenāt (usually) true. In fact, self harm and suicide attempts are completely different behaviours and should be treated as such. So please avoid accidentally killing yourself trying to hurt yourself enough to feel that your problems are valid, because they are valid regardless of that.
Take care of yourself and know that you always deserve betterš
