What do I do??

[Stage Star]

Basically, I haven't been self harming very long but have 9 noticeable scars/marks on my left forearm. I have so far managed to wear long sleeves or a wrist support bandage to hide them, but this weekend I'm going to be dancing in a show and have to wear no sleeves at all. I'm not so worried about what they'll look like on stage but I'm more worried about people seeing them backstage, cos we'll all be packed into a tiny dressing room and they're bound to notice. One girl knows I've got depression but she doesn't know about the self harm. I don't know what to do! Cover them up as best I can? Let them see them? Help!

[Palladion]

Could you get some armwarmers that match your dancing outfit or lots of bracelets?

Or if you have to go short sleeved you can try concealer and foundation. or this might sound weird but face paint is thicker and i've found it covers scars better so if you can find a skin coloured face paint, or if you are pale use white and use foundation over the top.

failing all of that I would tell people first so it doesn't come as such a shock, the one thing I really regret was not telling people and then having them accidentaly find out.

[Wonderful.]

Don't dancers use stage make-up, you know the really orange stuff?
You could always just chuck a bit of foundation on like the person above said, as long as they look light, it highly unlikely anybody off-stage would notice.

In the dressing room is a bit more difficult though, If you could keep a cardi or something on for as long as possible and keep your arms close to your body, maybe people will be too busy to notice?

Try not to worry about it, I'm sure you have to worry enough about the dancing.
Sorry not very good advice, all the best of luck though, I hope it goes alright. =]

[Lost Love]

you have to learn to be ashamed of the cuts, and if you are worried then stop cutting. cause trsut me i knowhow it feels. i am currently trying to stop cutting and sugest if you can stop now. stop cause its really addicting. pm if you need more help.

[Katiee]

Prehaps make up? That's all I have as a suggestion, sorry.

[dark faery princess]

I used to use a thick layer of foundation to cover my scars when doing stuff like that. I'd make it really thick over the actual scar as it doesn't cover very well otherwise, and then blended it out, thinner and thinner so it blended in with my arm. Also, juts put a top on and say you want to protect your costume from make-up/water etc. Thats what I used to do anyways. You can also get camouflage makeup which is desgned to cover scars. I think it can be quite expensive, though I did see that in Argos they have a kit for camoufalge makeup which you mix to the right skin tone yourself. Might be worth a try.

If you want to try the makeup thing its a good idea to give it a god before the actual day and make sure it doesn't notice as makeup on arm can sometimes stand out a bit.

Just try not to worry about it too much. From my experience, backstage will probably be too hectic with people getting ready to notice. But like has been already said, just keep your arms close to you.

Good luck with your show

x

[Endymion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carly1324

you have to learn to be ashamed of the cuts, and if you are worried then stop cutting.

I do NOT agree on this. (Of course I agree on the stopping-thing, but that's not the point).

Being ashamed of scars and cuts is natural I think, but it's not GOOD. If you can look at them at keep your head up, that's a whole lot better. Mostly people who don't understand these things say that self harmers should be ashamed. I do not agree. It's a thing that's not right, that's true. But it's nothing to be ashamed of, it happens to a lot of people, and for a lot of different reasons.
Stopping to cut is of course the best thing, and as you say here, the poster here should stop before he or she is addicted.

On topic:
I would try to pretend like it was nothing. At least that's how I react when I'm confronted with my scars... And I have a lot. If people ask; I merely answer "those are old scars from darker days", and most people don't ask more than that. (That being said, I never show of cuts, only healed scars). There is a lot of power in self esteem and how to behave, if you act like you don't care - maybe the rest won't care either. Anyways, good luck. (And as the one I quoted here said; do your best to quit before you get addicted. That's Hell).