Advice regarding treatments for self harm

[Wishiweresmarte]

Hello,

When I was in high school I used to self harm. I haven't done it or felt the urge to do it for several years now but the scars it's caused have been a horrible burden on my mind and one that just refuses to heal or be forgotten for any longer than a day, and I was wondering if anyone had either the experience or knowledge to point or guide me in the right direction to have them treated.

Thank you.

[Hayden]

Hi there. Anything medical, always start with a GP. They can refer to dermatologists for example. I heard a story on Triple J many years back about tattoo artists providing free work for survivors of self harm. But could cost a bit. Therapy with a counselor or psychologist could help with grief and thoughts about those scars?

[Wishiweresmarte]

Thank you for the reply. If I were to take it to a GP, would you have any clue if they'd have to include something regarding, particularly, self harm to my medical record?

Yeah I've heard of covering them with tattoos, the only reason I haven't is because I'm not really a fan of tattoos lol. But that is probably the smartest option.

As for therapy, I'm happy to tough it out.

Thank you again.

[Guest_23527107]

Not sure if this helps

i made the choice to get a tattoo over mine

my logic

’if people are going to stare and comment then it might as well be about a piece of art then why i did that to myself’ I got a lot of horrible comments so it made sense to me at the time.

every new person I meet has no idea about my history of self harm but I am still stigmatised by the tattoo which I’ve come to accept in a way I’m not sure I would with the scars.

But,

depending on the scars and where they are etc you can get a specific kind of dermal needling that will flatten them and can also help blend them into the rest of your skin in terms of tone and colour and you can also get skin coloured tattooing to help blend it into your surrounding skin. I would have probably done this first had I known it was an option. There is more available to help reverse them than you think.

if they are certain types too you can also get them recut and restitched.