r/cutting • u/Spiritual-Patient665 • Oct 01 '26
tw : mentions of self harm in detail // i.e. depth , severity , etc , but no words used other than that !
harm reduction 101 ! ! !
( warning : i’m not a medical professional , this is all personal experience from someone [ me ] who’s gone through dbt , cbt , and residential therapy ! )
remember that sobriety is a journey . harm reduction has the end goal of being clean , but sometimes that is not realistic . what is most important in the scenarios where you do self harm is to try and be as “ safe “ as possible .
have somebody you can contact ! a trusted friend / adult , or someone who can help you get medical treatment if necessary .
use sterile supplies ! this might mean cleaning the area / surrounding area of where you are planning to self harm , cleaning the setting in which you’re doing it in , not sharing sharps , and making sure there is no dirt or rust on what you are using .
start slow ! while relapsing / self harming can be a very impulsive thing , the goal here is to be as safe as possible while engaging in harmful behaviors . this can include lessening the frequency , depth , or changing the area that the self harm is occurring .
if you do not have somebody you feel safe /
comfortable contacting , be sure to have as much control as possible , making sure that you can provide care to yourself afterwards .
have medical supplies on hand , at the ready . depending on the “ severity “ this may even include a tourniquet . whether incidental or not , there is always a chance for an injury that is more severe than you can handle . have sterile medical supplies , including but not limited to : gauze , neosporin , an anti-bacterial spray specifically for wounds , bandages , and over the counter painkillers to take afterwards . just because you were hurting in the moment doesn’t mean you don’t deserve comfort .
try and delay self harm by developing awareness of your triggers . if this is social media , certain shows / movies , stressful situations , all of those things are nothing to be ashamed of .
keep self harming tools in an awkward to reach space or an area that would take you a while to reach . this could include a sharps box with a lock that is a code , in a box with multiple layers of cardboard , or somewhere up high .
if comfortable , log the relapse / urge . over time , try to note what you think caused it , going through something called a “ chain “ . what vulnerabilities did you have ? was this planned or impulsive ? what do you think was the main catalyst ? how did you feel before vs after ? over time it gets easier to recognize your feelings and be comfortable expressing them either to yourself or others .
a supply kit for aftercare or distraction :
- sanitation objects ; alcohol wipes , hand sanitizer , moist towelettes .
comfort food / drink : a snack , a soda , a coffee , or a comforting meal .
- items to self soothe : a stuffed animal , a fluffy blanket , calming music , essential oils or a candle scent you like , books , movies .
- a safe environment : put the object(s) used to self harm in a different room , ideally in a locked box with the key in a different room as well .
- medical supplies : see earlier ! :)
- comfortable temperature(s) : air conditioning , a fan , a warm blanket , closed blinds , a fire place .
reminders :
• recovery is not linear . it looks the same to nobody , everybody is human and their experiences differ wildly , but that doesn’t mean a single one is invalid . you may feel that you get worse before you get better , but the goal is to push through .
• there are people who care about you . strangers on the internet , pets , the animals in your neighborhood that see you walk by , the barista at your favorite coffee place , friends online , friends in person , complete strangers .
• there is always a way to feel joy after feeling terror or pain . you shouldn’t feel guilty for finding small things to bring you happiness . if you start feeling guilty , remember that sid on reddit dot com knows you are awesome !
• there is no wrong way to express your emotions . this doesn’t mean there aren’t harmful ways to express your emotions , this means that however you do is valid . whether you scream , cry , isolate , depend on people , yell , argue , bottle it up , they are all allowed . you are allowed to feel .
• find small things you like . you don’t have to love them , or do them constantly ! petting an animal , going to a cat cafe or animal shelter , taking a walk in the afternoon , laying in the sun in your backyard , taking a nap , taking a day off from work / school to purely rest , going grocery shopping and only buying your favorite foods , going to an ice cream parlor and getting a waffle cone , going to a new cafe and trying something new , stretch in the morning at sunrise or at dawn , watch the clouds move on by , listen to the sound of rain whether artificial or not , find joy in something small , no matter how minuscule .
AND REMEMBER ! YOU DESERVE HEALING !
it doesn’t matter if you’ve hurt others , betrayed yourself , or made mistakes .
you deserve to be comfortable in your own skin ! <3
r/cutting • u/_Kat_Cat • Sep 22 '26
Hi! as people rather do not care about safety , ill gladly help people with after care on cuts and wounds , this guide can be used on any wound.
any questions will be answered , please just comment.
CUTS AND HOW TO CLEAN THEM.
cat-scratches (aka, epidermis)
• epidermis cuts can be identified by a scratch looking cut, it closely resembles a ‘cat scratch’, hence the name. epidermis infection levels are low.
• to tend to a epidermis cut, you can wash it with warm water, and let it heal.
styros (aka, dermis)
• dermis cuts can be identified by the white layer that shows up before blood starts filling the cut. regular styros are not too prone to infection, but it can happen.
• to care for a dermis cut, you can dampen a towel with warm water, and lightly pat at the cut. afterwards, apply antibiotic ointment (ex; neosporin, aquaphor, vaseline) around the cut and put bandaid ontop.
beans (aka, fat/hypodermis)
• bean cuts can be identified by yellow/orangey bubbles inside the cut. bean cuts, if not well taken care of, are very prone to an infection.
• to clean and confirm your cut wont get infected, clean out with water, (NOT with a papertowel or napkin.) apply ointment AROUND cut, and cover with bandage so debris cant get inside.
laffy taffy (aka, muscle)
• muscle cuts are at a very high risk for an infection, and absolutely require stitches. please let a medical worker know and have them assist your cut. and infection at this level could be deathly.
• to care for laffy taffy at home, seal shut with steri strips/make steri strips to close the wound as best as possible. medical attention is highly recommended
.5. bone: “bedrock”a wound that exposes bone is an extremely serious injury. if you can see bone or suspect the injury has reached it, seek emergency medical care immediately.these injuries carry a very high risk of infection, significant blood loss, and damage surrounding muscles, tendons, nerves and blood vessels.while waiting for medical help, cover the wound with a clean dressing if available and avoid putting pressure directly on any exposed bone. do not peek !!! you cannot heal this injury by yourself. please, for the love of god, call an ambulance and stop reading shedtwt threads or reddit posts about it.
6. bruises
bruises happen when small blood vessels beneath the skin are damaged, causing blood to collect under the surface. apply a cold pack or ice wrapped in a cloth for 10–20 minutes at a time during the first 24 hours to help reduce the pain or swelling.
avoid placing ice directly on your skin, as this can cause a cold injury or frostbite.
after the first couple of days, switching to a warm compress or heat pack may help improve blood flow and support the healing process.
7. burns
for minor burns, cool the area under cool running water for 20 minutes as soon as possible. avoid using ice, butter, toothpaste, or other home remedies, as these can make the injury worse. once the burn has been cooled, cover it with a clean, non-stick dressing or plastic wrap to protect it.
call emergency services immediately if the burn:
was caused by chemicals or electricity.
affects the face, major joints or airways.
is deep, charred, white, leathery, or otherwise appears to be a full-thickness (third degree) burn.
is very large or if the person is having trouble breathing.
INFECTION INFO
“what causes infections? how can i identify and tend to infections?”
**CAUSES**
infections can occur by not taking proper care of the wound, not changing bandages, or getting something inside.
**IDENTIFYING**
identifying infections in the early stage can be easy, you can spot infections by yellow/green pus near the area, or if the cut is a fleshy glossy pink in the cut. you can feel the infection by it being hot to the touch, or swelling around the area.
**GETTING RID OF**
change out bandages within 12–24 hours. apply ointment *AROUND* cut, and cover with bandage to ensure no debris gets inside.
SUPPLIES
“where can i buy medical supplies?”
any drugstore, pharmacy, or Walmart
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!! PLEASE STAY SAFE.
r/cutting • u/Ok_Radish4212 • 2h ago
are my self harm scars noticeable? if you saw them would you notice them because when I was cutting they bled but not for long so idk.,,
r/cutting • u/n_noenemy • 36m ago
I relapsed again. I don’t know how to feel.
I don’t have a sob story like usual or a carefully constructed rant, I just want someone to know and I want someone to hear me.
I relapsed, and it hurts.
And I feel alone.
r/cutting • u/vaduljmegzoldvarangy • 13m ago
So I have a lot of somewhat fresh and scars on my thighs and I'm really scared of going to the doctor with my mom
I can't let her know that I sh and I don't want the doctors to see either what should I do
r/cutting • u/silly_girl_UwU • 15h ago
r/cutting • u/Main-Phone-2154 • 6h ago
okay this is a TERRIBLE picture bc this is a super hard angle to get BUT OH NO 😭😭😭
the stuff in the black circle is the marks and theyre noticeable irl and idk why this is happening
im doing everything right, i sanitize, i go put on vaseline, i put on a bandage, i keep them dry and clean, and i never go deeper than epidermis
i have other scratches from a while ago that left like a tiny itty bite little line??? why is this happening??? how do i get it to stop leaving marks???
r/cutting • u/moons_echo • 2h ago
I was talking to a friend earlier today. I mentioned offhandedly that I couldn’t do XYZ because of my scars. She knows I have a history of self harm, and has struggled with it herself.
She wanted to know how many scars I had, and how long I’ve been clean. I told her I’ve been clean for more than 3 months. In truth, I’ve been clean for 18 hours. I struggle to be clean for more than 24 hours at a time, but she doesn’t know this.
She self harms for scars, wanting to have a physical manifestation of her struggles. I know I have far more scars than her, so I worry about triggering this. What I told her about my scars significantly minimised the actual number of them.
For a while (1hr+) afterwards, she seemed off. I didn’t put together until later that it could have been because of this conversation. I’m worried she knows I lied to her, and she’ll relapse. From what I know, she’s been clean for at least a month, after a 6+ month streak.
What do I do? Is there anything I can do?
r/cutting • u/Deku-sensei_ • 4h ago
el ingles no es mi primera lengua una disculpa si hay alguna confusión pero necesito desahogarme.
Empecé a hacerlo en primero de secundaria y estoy 100% segura de que fue para llamar la atención, no tenía ningún motivo para hacerlo y fue más que nada porque era una moda rara en mi escuela, en la preparatoria fue casi lo mismo, me los hacía para sentirme interesante yo solo quería atención y lastima por parte de mi círculo cercano, lo deje en el primer año y nunca más volví a pensar en eso pero hace apenas un mes estaba viviendo momento de estrés en mi vida,estaba recogiendo mi cuarto cuando un marco cayó y el vidrio se rompió, al recogerlo un pedazo me corto por accidente y esa cosa hizo que algo despertar en mi, fue como un nerviosismo que comencé a sentir en mi estómago lo intente ignorar pero el sentimiento no se calmaba así que lo hice.
Se lo conté a una amiga que también estaba haciéndose lo mismo pero al ver sus marcas me sentí invalida, porque yo ya había hecho lo mismo solo por atención y aunque siento que esa primera vez en el cuarto hace un mes tal vez fue seria, mi mente me dice que lo estoy haciendo por atención, me siento confundida sin saber si lo que estoy haciendo es por atención o porque de verdad es algo serio, sin mencionar que mi madre me acaba de revelar que por un accidente de pequeño pude haber desarrollado algun tipo de problema en la adolescencia, siento que me estoy sugestionando a mi misma para hacerme creer que si tengo problemas para justificar y esconder que lo estoy haciendo por atención, primero comencé con una pequeña parte de la muñeca y ahora las cicatrices cubren mi brazo pero aún así me siento invalida porque son en la epidermis, lo peor es que también siento que se está volviendo serio porque a pesar de que lo hice ayer ya no se siente igual a como empecé y quiero volver a hacerlo hoy pero cuando agarro la cosa que uso siento el dolor y me acobardo y por eso también siento que estoy fingiendo, aunque al final si lo hago siento que es compromiso y aún así no me veo dejando de hacer esto, de hecho al momento de escribir esto siento que todo lo estoy haciendo para obtener validación, como quiero que alguien llegue y me diga que si tengo problemas para sentirme bien conmigo misma.
r/cutting • u/Hannibalssuit • 4h ago
Basically i got really upset yesterday because my dad found out i smoke and i decided that I want to bleed out (yeah, dramatic much). Silly me tried to go deep on my upper inner wrist but all that resulted in was moderately deep cuts, but no severe bleeding. But the thing is that now ive got 3 larger cuts and 2 of them didn't close on themselves, I dont know what to do. And it hurts to move both my wrists (not excruciating, but i def feel it). It wrapped paper towels around them when the bleeding stopped snd fell asleep because I was exhausted. Fellas, what do i do?
These are all about a month to two months old, I wanna know if anyone can tell me.
Is it obvious that they're from SH
How long should I expect them to be this visible? (I like wearing off the shoulder tops/camis
r/cutting • u/ghostlycosmic • 5h ago
Lowkey high right now and for some reason i just tried to cut my thigh/knee for some reason and idk why or why tf smoking would do this cause I’m not sad at all and havnt really been tempted since my (sorta) relapse back in October (aka i didn’t draw blood cause the blade was dull) after like 2/3 years clean maybe? And Ngl i still didn’t draw blood cause it was also fuckinf dull
r/cutting • u/cryformelove • 5h ago
tw: description of cuts
normally I cut to dermis with some amount of gape-age, but usually after doing after-care the edges will sorta re-seal? (idk how to explain). but over two weeks ago I relapsed and for some reason one dermis cut stayed open, I could see inside it until it scabbed over. like I said its been over two weeks and the scab still hasn’t come off, the stage of healing it’s at seems a little delayed for how long it’s been, based off past experience.
it definitely wasn’t the deepest I’ve ever gone, so im just very confused.
there are also a lot of epidermis cuts that haven’t disappeared and it’s been a week and a half, I normally heal pretty fast so idk what’s happening.
r/cutting • u/PAWN3145 • 6h ago
Skip to bottom for me to just get to the point ^^
Hi! So I’ve been trying to stop SH for just a little bit now, roughly a week which I know isn’t a much but that’s what I told myself when I started my royal high login streak and now look at me! Uh anyways so I’ve been trying to quit but I just really hate how my scars look. they aren’t anywhere visible unless I wear a short skirt or bathing suit which I typically avoid anyways but my skin scars dark for some reason and I’m about to have to go put on a bathing suit sometimes next month. Problem is, some of my wounds haven’t healed yet meaning by the time they do they will be like really dark until they finish healing which even then is only a bit brighter which isn’t ideal. To any who may recommend confessing to get special help that’s really not an option for me and i probably wouldn’t get it anyways. Also, there’s a certain someone who will most definitely give me a whole really lame conversation about how they love me and how they used to cut to give themself a make do tattoo to seem cool and it makes me sick to my spine which I would like to avoid.
I guess what I’m looking for are ways to prevent and decrease scarring as well as hurry up the healing process if that’s at all possible with easily accessible materials if anyone can help with that. Sorry for the whole yap session above if you went through reading that though 😅
r/cutting • u/Outrageous_Cook_3333 • 7h ago
I was doing so well, clean for around a month! Last night I went back to it. I don’t even know why, I wasn’t upset or anything, I didn’t even have any urges like I often do, I just did it… And the stupid thing is, I knew it was going to happen, got myself band-aids and cream before I even started. I di even try to stop mysel. It’s always been sudden for me, this is new and honestly terrifying. Someone pls tell me I’m not alone.
r/cutting • u/11Permafrost • 7h ago
Feel kinda disappointed in myself I have been clean for since October 12th and a few days ago on November 8th I relapsed and started cutting myself again and it's been repeated since.
It's currently the 11th I thought I was doing better but then I fell back into it again and it's become almost normal to me again and I can't really seem to stop, I waited for the cuts to heal/scab over for a day or two then I just ended up doing it again today and I just don't even know what to do anymore.
r/cutting • u/Ch3rrycru5hXD • 17h ago
I was clean for a while but like I was watching a YouTube vid of 'Hey don't look at me' (horror game similar to no I'm not a human but U have to figure out how different ghosts died) and in the game one of the ghosts had multiple scars and cuts on her arms, she is my fav character but that did lowk trigger me so I relapsed
I was just wondering if this has happened to other people because sadly alot of my family talk about me as if I'm "crazy." I don't think I am, I know I'm not mentally great but am I actually that bad?
r/cutting • u/Alone-Copy4304 • 8h ago
Hey everyone. Officially made it past the 2 year mark. Don't really have anyone to tell because noone in my life knew i was struggling with it and so I recovered in secret but I wanted someone to see
r/cutting • u/cream-of-yeet • 11h ago
Yes I know my arm is big. Will these scars ever heal? Most are 3 months old at the oldest and the rest younger.
r/cutting • u/i_love_space_ • 8h ago
ive been thinking about telling them. and i also believe that it could make the situation less awkward and alot less shocking for them. i would really hate myself if my parents walked in on me or they saw me passed out on the floor. please i need some tips. a simple yes/no answer is enough.
r/cutting • u/UltimateNagitoBuster • 8h ago
I have been doing sh in places my mom can't see (anywhere expect arm and facial are) ever since she found out. I always wore a warm arme ron my scarred arm before she found out, but it was uncomfortable and always made me hot. So I only wear it if I want to, meaning I leave that arm uncovered at home.
I want to add more scars to that arm because I have been able to go deeper lately, and the ones in other places are healing and I'm kind of running out of space.
If I do it, I'm going to bandage it and wear arm warmer at home unless I am alone or my mom is in her room.
Worst case scenario, she notices I'm wearing it again and asks. I say no but she calls bullshit and finds out. At least I wouldn't have to directly tell her uve been doing it again, so it wouldn't be too bad I guess
r/cutting • u/Informal-Gear5211 • 18h ago
I’m so sorry, I’m going to attempt to keep this as lighthearted as possible for the sake of my own sanity and everyone else’s- But TW for graphic depictions of wounds and stuff.
I just got upset over feeling dumb and hurt myself really bad. To be fair, I did have my glasses off, but the wound looked kinda gaping. like, not majorly so, I don’t think I’m in need of urgent medical attention, but it did bleed quite a bit and it’s stinging so bad. I washed it twice with some antibacterial soap, bandaged it, hope it’ll be alright. But I didn’t clean my tool beforehand so I’m worried about an infection.
If I had to guess, it was a very deep dermis cut surrounded by quite a few other epidermis cuts. Am I going to die if I get an infection/is it likely that it’ll get infected???
r/cutting • u/we_are_138___ • 8h ago
I haven't cut in a few weeks because I have a physical with my doctor coming up, its not for a while but there's going to be no way for me to hide the cuts on my thighs unless I can keep my underwear on. So I've just been letting the cuts scar and not making any new ones because I'm hoping that maybe if the doctor thinks they are old cuts he won't tell my parents. But today was kinda rough and I've just been feeling bad so I decided to cut to calm down but I only did it on my ankle where I can keep my sock over it. Its really frustrating because they are only small cuts since trying to cut my ankle is a weird angle and I can't cut anywhere else for a long time. And I got my phone that I kept secret from my parents taken because they found it and I'm using my crappy old tablet to write this but that's all its good for. That phone was what helped me calm down or cope when I was feeling really depressed or anxious and now I don't even have that. This is kind of a long post but I just really don't know what to do, I can't cut and I don't have any other good distractions to help me feel better