ok so i wont post the address because well it probably wont be helpful.
so there this site i go on its a support site like RYL is, but on this site it has a picture section where people can post photos of their self harm.
i read somewhere that some people find it helps sometimes when they have the urge to self harm and makes them feel like theyve got the release.
my question is do you think its right to be on a site trying to stop self harm??
No I don't think it's a good idea. People might use the pictures to trigger themselves or feel at competition with other people because they see worse self harm than they usually do and then aim to match or do worse than the photo. I've been on an SH site that does the same thing, maybe the same one you went on.
Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do you want?
the only reason i can see why people would want to see pictures of other people's cuts is to make sure they were "doing it right" / "bad enough" / "mine aren't as deep as so and so's." it's a bad way to go.
I put that I'm not sure whether it is good or not, but I'm a total fence sitter.
I think that it really depends on the site. I've been on some that completely glamorize self-harm and can even become a competition of who has the worst injuries. If there are proper warning up before you get to the pictures then I don't really see a problem. People need to be responsible enough to know their limits.
On a side note, the photos posted have helped me before as I got the release without needing to do damage to myself so tey can be helpful for some people.
It's the children the world almost breaks that grow up to save it.
-Frank Warren
I think it's different strokes for different folks. Personally I have looked at pictures of self injury to try and avoid hurting myself and have also saved pictures of my wounds, more than anything as an attempt to try and scare myself away from doing that amount of damage again. It was also quite useful to see others self harm as I had massive issues with maybe I was being pathetic getting treatment as it "wasn't that bad" or going to the other extreme and worrying I was some kind of psycho-monster, so actually in a weird way it was reassuring that I was "normal" and doing the right thing in seeking treatment
As long as people are fully informed that those images may be on that site and that if they choose to view them that they fully accept it's their own responsibility if they are triggered by it then I see no problem.
That's not to say I'd like to see such images on RYL at all, I don't think it'd fit with our ethos here at all.
I think there would become a lot of competition, and that your cuts always need to be the 'worst' for it to matter. How bad you harm is no indication of the pain you are in. I really don't think that is appropriate on a support site.
If you want to look at pictures, for whatever reason, there are plenty of other places to get them.
I don't think it is appropiate. Yes, it could have positives but I can see it having a lot more of a negative effect. I personally would feel that a site like that would have rather a negative impact on me. Seeing pictures might ease the urge at one time, but it would also make me feel that my wounds weren't 'bad enough'.
Saying that, it could help some people and there are sites around that don't have pictures.
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future
that year by year recedes before us.
It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we
will run faster, stretch out our arms further...
And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current,
borne back ceaselessly into the past.
Short answer no. I think I know that site and I agree that it doesnt agree with RYLs ethos. I got terribly triggered by the pics and I cant really understand how posting them can help with someones recovery - especially mine! If the pics help other people, then maybe its not such a bad thing - but the majority of peoples on this site seem to be of the same opinion as I am. :)
a picture section could be harmful, could create a competitive nature, and to be honest it's the type of thing that appars on pro-sites.
However, I have spoken to people in the past who have kept a photographic record of their self-harm as a motivational tool for recovery... so I guess for some people it may help.
I think the risk of competitivness is too great though
for me, personally, no. i've seen photos like that in the past, and always wanted to beat the worst. sad, i know. if it helps some people, then i guess that's good, but i think it's risky for a lot of people.
ryl has a very nothing-allowed triggering policy, but i find talking in detail about problems and reminders of exactly what i did a help.
if i went to that site, maybe it would make me think i cut pathetically, but im not in a recovery stage, im in a bad place. when im recovering, i look at my old cuts, and i think, i did that. i dont do that now. thats good."
and by looking at worse cuts, i might think "i didnt do as bad a thing to my body."
i think it depends on what type of recovery you want. i think i need a mix of both. i need to talk explicitally about what i do, and i cant get that here. i have to get that somewhere else. that site would need a warning page though. like sexually explicit sites have a welcome page that basically says "this is a sexually explicit site. are you over 18 and aware of this? then enter if you want to."
So if you wanna burn yourself remember that I love you
And if you wanna cut yourself remember that I love you
And if you wanna kill yourself remember that I love you
Call me up before you're dead
We can make some plans instead
Send me an IM, I'll be your friend Kimya Dawson - Loose Lips - Juno Soundtrack
I don't see how it can be possibly a positive thing... and in the end will always do more harm then good. Sadly, their is a very competitive nature around self harm (granted not for everyone but still...) and pictures I think would just give people a... bar to meet or raise.
Sooo no. no no no.
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
i find looking at pictures of my own self harm can prevent me harming myself but im not sure if others self harm would have the same effect. as said it could make it competitive. it could be triggering. i think it depends on the person. different things trigger or comfort different people
However, I have spoken to people in the past who have kept a photographic record of their self-harm as a motivational tool for recovery... so I guess for some people it may help
I think 'their' is the key word here. Pictures of your own injuries might help, pictures of other people, of different severity etc? not so much. And there is MASSIVE potentional for guilt tripping. Freind A tries to support freind B. Freind B doesnt listen etc, and eventually freind A has to go out somewhere. They come back, go to the website and find a new SH picture from freind B up there.
"I would be almighty in my own world of art, even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell." -Picasso
"No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war." - Picasso
'I have scars becuase I have a past; but they, like my past, do not define my future'
I have been on other websites where people post pictures of their self harm. To be honest, for the majority of people I cant see how it would be remotely helpful. It just stirs up competition.
But sometimes when I have wanted to cut I have looked at the photos and it was enough. It's also a kind of morbid curiosity.
Also, I took pictures of my self harm for years. I have quite a collection, and have actually made a photo journal of my journey.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
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