Right, I'm going to post this in here because what I'm posting about is the reason I was so triggered in the first place and I don't want to waste space on the board with another thread. So here goes...
(Sorry it's so long)
A few days ago I logged on to Deviant Art, thinking I'd like to have a look through the new photographs that had been uploaded to see if there was anything interesting. So I open up the photography page and the first thing I see, smack bang in the middle of the page, is a photo of someone's fresh cuts. This hits me like a ton of bricks and I go from being alright and just wanting to look at some photos to being really triggered. So I click on this person's ID and have a look at their gallery. Not only are there quite a few photos of cuts and scars, there is also a piece of writing detailing how this person first started SI - including what tools they had used and how they had used them. It also seemed to advocate that SI is a brilliant way to make yourself feel better. Now I don't know if it's just me but I felt that it was pretty irresponsible to post this on a website that a lot of impressionable young people visit. I don't know, maybe I was being too sensitive.
So I did something I wouldn't normally do. I sent this person a note. Contacting people scares me, even when it's people I know and like. Usually, I would just ignore it and get on with things but it had had such an effect on me that I wasn't in my normal frame of mind. This is what I said:
Hello.
Before I start this message, I ask that you please read to the end and hear me out because I am not just having a go at you.
One of your photos was on the newest deviations section when I logged in. I have looked at your gallery. I understand your wish to express yourself and that you are in a bad place right now but I ask you to please consider the feelings of others while you are doing so. Some members may be triggered by seeing the images you have uploaded when they are up on the main page - they would see them before they had a choice about whether or not to click on them.
I'm not trying to stifle your creativity or anything like that, I would just like you to think about all the people that could be influenced by the things you have written. Am I right in saying that you've not been harming for long? It is a horrible cycle to get into and your piece of writing not only describes how you hurt yourself and what tools you use, but also seems to encourage it. I just hope that no younger, more easily influenced members read it and decide that it is a good idea to start.
May I also ask what you hope to achieve by posting photographs of your cuts? I thought this website was about sharing artwork not just posting images of things you have done to yourself.
Now, I know this may come across as me just having a go at you but I don't mean to be totally heartless. Have you tried signing up to any self harm help websites? You can post your writing and feelings on there and instead of people getting angry at you (as I have seen from the comments on your deviation) people will be understanding and try to help you.
If you are interested in getting some help or just having somewhere to vent your feelings, this website is a good starting point:
[link]
There is lots of information about other ways of coping not only with self harm but with issues such as depression etc. There is also a large forum with many areas, including an area where you can rant/vent and an area where you can share your artwork and writing.
Sorry for the long message. I wanted to try to give you some constructive criticism as I hope it will help you and avoid people being upset by seeing things they do not wish to see.
Take care
I then spent the whole of the next day worrying that I had been horrible and that this person would be in a worse place because of what I'd said. Then I got a response, which was a pretty shitty message about how everyone else has been saying the same thing to them and that it's none of my business what they choose to upload as art and how I'm treating them like a dA newbie, blah blah blah. So this person obviously thinks I was just being horrible. They even put
"I'm not the sappy, depressed emo kid longing for their mummy to notice them that you think I am." ... If only they knew that I know that SI is about so much more than that. It was this reply that triggered me so much that I posted about it with this thread.
Anyway, to get to the point of a very long and rambling story, I now can't stop beating myself up about being so stupid and sending that message. No matter what I'm doing or how hard I try not to think about it, my mind keeps wandering back to the question - was I being out of order in what I said? Which is where you guys come in... If I said things that I shouldn't have, please tell me. I'm not looking for reassurance or for beration, I just want to set my mind at rest one way or another because right now I feel like a complete bitch for saying anything.
If you've read this far, thank you and well done! Sorry it's taken me so long to get to the point of my post.
