Dude , I don ' t really know where else to start other than that I ' m so sorry , and I definitely understand . I ' m a chick and fit into literally every cliche there is for cutters , from the childhood abuse to the black hair and eyeliner lol I started when I was 7 and hid it until I was 16 but only told certain friends . I ' m 23 now and completely open about it . I think the best thing that can happen to someone who self harms is letting go of the shame and embarrassment . Yes , your scars are severe , but no they ' re not disgusting or scary , hell , they ' re even beautiful in a way , and I hope someday you can see them in that light . Those scars are a part of who you are , a part of your story , and they ' re just as valid and important as the happy times . As far as dealing with coworkers and even random strangers if you get to the point where you ' re comfortable enough to quit hiding them , there are ALWAYS gonna be dickbags and assholes who say shitty things , even when you reach a point where your scars just look like normal skin to you and the less you hide them , the more comfortable you ' ll start to be in your own skin , even if it ' s hard at first . Most comments are just bone headed statements by people who don ' t even know what they ' re saying , and then there will be the occasional complete cunt who tries to use your scars as a way to hurt you , and there ' s not much I can say on that other than fuck those people . But people will kinda gauge their reactions and the way they treat you based on the way you act about it . If you ' re honest and unbothered by it , most people are immediately more comfortable and often just leave it alone , but if you ' re clearly embarrassed and secretive people seem to automatically assume that there ' s something wrong with you and feel like they need to be cautious in what they say or do around you , or even go so far as to make you feel like an outsider , or like you ' re a fuckin leper . It was very weird to me when I realized that everyone else ' s attitude toward my fresh wounds and old scars completely changed once mine did . When I became more confident with my battle wounds , people were less freaked put by them . And ya know what ? EVERYONE has some sort of unhealthy coping mechanism , whether it ' s booze , drugs , sex , food , gambling , or dressing up like a pilgrim and jerking off to Oprah while you cry and eat pudding , everyone has their shit . Cutting may be more taboo , but it ' s not any worse or any more shameful than anything else except maybe the pilgrim thing , and everybody has the right to deal with griefpaintrauma however the fuck they want to .