"I have so many scars that it's impossible. I hide the ones on my legs by never wearing shorts. The ones on my wrists I used to hide by wearing long sleeves, but I don't anymore. I live in a very warm climate and it's too damn hot. Plus I don't care as much now, and people mostly don't say anything."



"Long sleeves, bracelets, and watches. Some injuries can't really be hid though, and those I have to brush off with vague answers. I don't cover up my scars anymore though, and surprisingly few people have asked. Only one close friend has bothered wondering, and I don't have any problem lying to mere acquaintances about the cause of the marks left behind. The tricky thing is when someone I'm kind of friends with, but not really asks, and I'm caught between the desire to be honest and the knowledge that it's not a good time to come out with such a confession, even if they DID ask."



"I have never cut much on my forearms (not enough so I could dismiss the cuts when my mother asked me about them), although I would have loved to scar them up. I cut on my legs and stomach so unless I wear shorts or take off my shirt no one will ever see."



"Well, I used to wear long pants and long sleeves all the time but then I decided fuck the world, and if people care they care. Right now I have the problem that I'm supposedly being able to get over it, and in order to hide the fact that I'm still doing it I try to make it in hidden places."



"Long sleeves, pants. I usually cut/burn my thighs and arms, that way I can hide it if I want. Sometimes, I don't give a damn what anybody thinks and parade around "showing off" my cuts and burns. People look at me funny and talk about me behind my back, but that's just one more way to hide it for me."



"I used huge sweaters, thick socks. Oh! And with my hands, I would wear an ace bandage to school and say I had sprained my wrist."



"I can't hide my chewed fingernails, and my beatings to myself, if I feel the hate to myself building up while I am in a public place, I will stuff it down until I am safe in private or with certain close friends, and then I will let the volcano explode."



"I've found that slitting the fingertips leaves virtually no scars, and you can blame it on slipping when shaving. Although that only works so many times. Basically, I just do it, and hope no one notices, which they really haven't so far."



"Keep my hands in my lap. If I've done a particular "number" on them (as my family puts it) I'll cover my fingers with band-aids, but that doesn't usually last long, but I just end up picking them apart."



"Yes, generally. I mean, I don't wear long sleeves, but I hold my arm against myself and when someone asks about a scar I just blow them off, or make up some quick excuse."



"As much as possible i try to wear long sleeves, but i live in a hot climate (Australia) and in the summer months i'd draw more attention to myself by covering up than i would by exposing myself. So as a result, i still wear shorts and bathers and short sleeves but i normally keep my arms folded (which covers most of my arm scars) and am just generally careful about my actions and who will see them."



"I cut in places no one sees, like my shoulders during the winter and my hips and stomach. Also, feet are good, because no one questions wounds on your feet. I have scars on my arms and legs, but I don't let that stop me from wearing the clothes I want to; none of my scars are too terribly scary, and I have lies I tell about each of them... and people see what they want to see. They would much rather believe that a scar is from falling out of a tree when I was little than that it's from an incident with a pocket knife. The scar in question doesn't even look much like something that would come from falling out of a tree, but people choose not to see that. I let them believe what they want to believe."



"I don't hide it much. My parents know and have simply give up on trying to make me stop. All my friends know, so I don't normally feel uncomfortable around them. If I've done a particularly bad cut then I'll just wear sweaters, so as not to get a lecture from someone. Otherwise i just let it go... people can think or say what they want about me cutting myself. I could care less because I know the truth."



"I wear a band-aid and I have big wide bracelets that I wear. I sometimes wear jackets to hide it. I only do this (hide) for new burns. The scars I have are very noticeable and I have had them for over 10 years now... I live with them."

It's easy for me, really. I've always been easily chilled -- my normal body temperature is 97.8 -- so it's not weird for me to wear long sleeves three seasons of the year. During the summer I don't do anything to my arms or legs, I concentrate it all on my thighs so nobody sees.

[female, age 19, began to SI at age 16 at the latest, college student (full time)]

when i was younger i wore "sock gloves" alot; long arm bands i'd make out of socks. i'd try to make the arm coverings as neutral as possible, sometime using nylons. i never counted on long sleeves much, since they can move and arent tight to the skin. i always wanted something i knew wasnt going to fall off or move around from where i put it. it needed to cover up all the bandaging too.

[female, age 18, began to self-injure at age 12, university student]

I have over 100 scars (and many others that have faded over the years), but I generally space them out well and try to not make my SI look obvious. Anytime there has been an obvious cut on my arms I have covered it when long sleeves, bracelets, cuffs, etc. I cut on my stomach and hips a lot, because no one really sees those areas. I've also cut and burned a lot on my legs, but I'm rarely not wearing pants so there's little opportunity for people to see them.

[female, age 19, began to SI at age 12, first year university student]

I usually cut on my legs, so pants and tights work nicely in the winter time. I tend to concentrate my cuts towards my upper thighs, so in the summer, longer shorts cover the worst of the scars, and I get boy-shorts bathing suit bottoms. I am not concerned about scars, it is the fresh cuts that i dont want people to see, so if i have any new cuts, i hide them any way i can.

[female, age 16, began to SI at age 14, high school student]

evidently hiding scars with clothing or a band-aid, but I can't keep those on too long...I clean my razor blades very well and just put them along with all the other replacement razor blades in the bathroom. I have also used scissors and knives, which are just common household objects that don't arouse suspicion and can't be taken away from me unless I forget to clean them...

[female, age 17, began to SI at age 14, HS student]

The only time that I hide it is at work. Due to the nature of my job I don't feel that my many large scars would present a professional image to the other people that I work with. Outside of work I do not try to hide it. It is not something that I feel I should be ashamed of. It is a visible symptom of my illness and it is a part of who I now am, people either accept or they don't, the choice is theirs'.

[male, age 32, began to SI at age 28, Security]

sweat bands, long sleeve shirts...and a little magic called neosporin. i am extremely proud of my cutting though, it's proof i've lived through extreme emotional battles...why hide that? i dont show the world my scars, but my cuts dont stop me form wearing short sleeves when i want to.

[female, age 14, began to SI at age 12, student]

I didn't need to hide broken bones; people generally assume they are accidental, I would hide scolds, burns, cuts, bruises, bites, scratches, stab wounds with clothing…and bandaging for more serious injuries such as deep cuts/stab wounds that I would tape together and bandage up.
Starvation I would have no need to hide while at home because my mother herself is anorexic bulimic and so I have never through her eaten well since childhood and friends rarely comment and never seriously when they do, I think they avoid the subject as much as I try to.

[female, age 16, began to SI at age 6, College Student]

I only really do it on my legs, generally high on my thighs. So far, it's not been much of a problem since I never wear things much past my knees anyway, but bathing suits might be a problem. I do have a patch of eight or so slashmarks (the second time I ever cut, after my several slashmarks of the first time) that are on the side of my leg outside my knee, and that's hard to hide sometimes. It is kind of difficult to undress in front of a guy or a friend, I have to position myself in certain ways to be discreet. Since I started cutting, I've not had a serious boyfriend who'd see that part of my body regularly, and I imagine that when that happens I might run into some problems.

[female, age 20, began to SI at age 13 or (cutting very recent), College student]

Normally I don't when I'm out. If its a hot day I just wear short sleeves and simply keep my arms down and the cuts turned inwards. Somethimes, in order to hide them from my parents, I put foundation over the cuts in hopes that they wouldn't notice them. Other times, if the cuts are close enought to my wrists, I cover them with wrist bands or bracelets.

[female, age 14, began to SI at age 11, High School student]

I cut in places that are always hidden by clothes. I don't shave my legs, so I never wear a bathing suit or even shorts for that matter. My legs are more sensitive though, I usually cut on my upper left arm and my left breast. Burns usually go on my wrists, I'm not sure why I don't burn anywhere else. Everything except burns are hidden by clothes, and sometimes if my burns are bad enough, I'll wear those "wrist-warmers" that are like sweatpants for your wrists. Although it gets warm, unfortunately.

[female, age 20, began to SI at age 15, college student]

Lie,lie,lie,deny,and chalk it up to my work. I am an artist. I can say I was doing glass work...or doing a ceiling mural to which scratches often occur by ladders...raw wood...door panels ect...you can catch yourself on the darndest things up high. Most everyone believes it or at least they don't call you on it.

Once I cut about myself when I was out of control,(I was about 18yrs old) I had cut from my wrist to the bend of my arm. I had cut it fast and a little odd and fairly deep. I had a someone see it and they asked how I did it...I said that I was reaching for a dish in the dishwasher behind the silverware holder and my roomate didn't turn a knife down, I accidently knocked the rack forward and the knife hit my arm...it hurt so naturally I jumped pulling back to which made it rip down my arm. Sometimes the more bizzare the less questions someone asks...or they dismiss it as a reasonable explanation.
I've gotten very good at the lies...and the sad thing is...in my life I am almost a totally honest person.

[female, age 30, began to SI at age 16 or younger, mom of 5 and artist]

I am the queen of long sleeves! Lol. I never leave the house without a sweater, and only go out with short sleeves if I'm with someone who knows - I don't care if strangers see my arms. Other than that, long sleeves, all the time. No matter what the temp. is, I'm in long sleeves. I was tired of the comments, "It's so hot, honey - take off your sweater." and the questions, "Why do you wear long sleeves all the time?" that I got a tattoo on my right forearm (I only cut on my left arm), so I can tell people, completely honestly, "I have to for work, the tattoo, you know." It works well.

[female, age 22, began to SI at age 15, college]