Does cutting for only a few months and stopping make me any less of a self-harmer?

You are not permanently defined by your mistakes. If you have self-harmed, the sooner you can stop and not become addicted to this behaviour as a long-term coping mechanism - the better.

I don’t believe there is a scale for how much of a self-harmer one is. If you’re deliberately hurting yourself, it is self-harm, no matter for how long you’ve been doing it. However, I believe it’s great that you’re stopping!

If you automatically decide to stop cutting, and you avoid cutting when you feel the urge, you can consider yourself recovered on the first day. The decision to stop makes you a brave, strong person!

Yes, it does but that’s a good thing because it shows that you’re getting better. That things are starting to look up. And it might not feel like that yet but it will soon. You just have to give it time, change will happen

No, you are still self-harming. If you are self harming or are feeling suicidal, please contact 1-800-273-8255 (This is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) or dial 911 ASAP. Your life is valuable.

No you're still a victim of self-harm. Time doesn't measure anything. You could cut for a week or for years either way you're still effected by it.

Self-harm is a very serious thing, regardless of when it happened. Something or someone made you feel like self-harm is a good idea, and that is not true at all. It's a big deal and shouldn't be taken lightly.

I would say trying it once doesn't make you a self-harmer but doing it for a few much does. This is just my opinion though! And if you ever need help with self-harming, please remember we are here for you and there are professionals out there to help. Take care!

The fact that you could stop yourself within such limitated time and now have control over the situation is commendable. Self-harmer is not a bad word and it's not you anymore if you have the control.

No, it absolutely does not. Self harm is self harm, regardless if it's one time or I've hundred times.

No, self-harm is simply that, harming yourself. A person who's harmed themselves once, is just as entitled to assistance as a person who's harmed themselves for years.

Self harm is difficult, even if you were doing it for years but have now stopped are you still a self-harmer? No matter how little or how much you do it, it is still something that should be taken seriously and that you should talk to a professional about.

Being a self harmed isn’t a title to be proud of! Cutting yourself once makes you a self harm victim. Get help don’t suffer alone

No, self-harm is self-harm, no matter how you do it, no matter how long you do it. It's still destructive. Also, if you "just cut for a few months" it can turn into a whole lot of months. You need professional help, either way. Did that make sense?

I use to cut for almost two years, and i stopped for about one month. Self-harm is a serious addiction, i know how hard it can be to escape that cycle. But it depends on how you are feeling and if you want to continue cutting.

Cutting ourselves/ trying to self harm won't do any good. You are just hurting yourself. You should love yourself, you'll feel better

cutting for any amount of time can be addicting and if you continuously do it will always be an option for you, but if you find other ways to cope that are healthier for you and less addicting, you could stop sooner.

No,self-harm isn’t about for how long you do it.Maybe you do it for a day,but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t count.

Not at all. The fact that you get the urge to harm yourself and engage in self-harm behaviour at all would technically make you a "self-harmer". You don't need to label yourself as that though because that doesn't make you who you are.

Self harm is self harm. No matter how long, or how many times it is practiced, it doesn’t make it any worse or any better.

That will always be part of your identity, because it’s an obstacle you’ve faced and that has made you stronger.

it sounds like you are depressed and need to talk to sormone. it can lead to more if you get anymore depressed.

Cutting makes you a self-harmer but Im glad if you stopped and I want you to know that no matter how dark a situation could seem, you should not harm yourself. Take care of yourself and give yourself all the love in the world, because you deserve it.

It's complicated. If you self harm to cope with depression and pain, it may recur as a coping method or at least a desire thoughout all of your life, but that is no reason to feel defeated. On the contrary, if you can stop for a while, when you feel in control of your life, that is a good sign. It means, when the urges to harm are in your head, they are a clear sign you need to talk to someone about your problems. It can be turned into an advantage for taking care of yourself, if you are patient and determined. Don't let the stigma make you feel ashamed, it's actually very natural, but a symptom of a bigger problem.

If you have only harmed once, you are a harmer. either way, at some point you felt the need to harm yourself for whatever reason you had.

From my experience, what makes someone a self-harmer is the fact that they repeatedly harm themselves no matter if it's only a matter of days, weeks, months, or even years. Anyone who self-harm needs to reach out and seek the help that they need. I personally went through it for months and thankfully I outgrew it (and took up other vices unfortunately). Self-care and self-love don't happen overnight and from my personal experience, discussing self-harm with the people i trust helped me overcome the urges. I was in a dark, dark place. From then on, i still get enveloped by darkness, but never the urge of self-harm any longer. I've grown quite fond of myself and wouldn't want me to be hurt in that way anymore.

No it absolutely does not . Any type of self harm is bad and it does not matter if you only did it once or still continue to do it. Self harm is not a competition. you are not “any more” or “any less” because of how many you did or how long you did it or how deep they were. Because what matters is that you felt so much pain that the only way to release it was to hurt yourself. Even though everyone has different stories and different reasons to cut or self harm, we have all at one point felt the same kind of sadness and fear that led us to that point. You are not any less than another just because you have a different type of pain. I’m really proud that you’ve been able to stop ❤️❤️❤️

even though you did it doesn’t mean that you can’t change! it’s in your past now and you can’t change that but that’s okay all you have to do is accept that it happened and hopefully move on, you’re stronger now and even though stopping doesn’t deny that it did happen, stopping and is the best step and recovery will hopefully happen! don’t let it hold you back from doing great things in the future when you still have potential from a short lived problem soon you will be okay and not worry about it anymore don’t worry now

A self-harmer had a lifetime of abuse from someone (or more than one person). It doesn't matter how early or later in life the abuse happened. Once, the person is abused, whether physically, mentally (psychologically), socially and/or financially, this person goes through a deep emotional turmoil internally. They think they are the problem. They see themselves as worthless, useless, bad, horrible, mean and/or good for nothing. This is when they start to harm themselves. The cutting makes them feel something (even when it is pain and bleeding) and sometimes it makes them feel in control of their lives. It isn't attention getting, because they do the self harm in private. And when they get found out, they are embarrassed and ashamed. However all of this isn't their fault. And they are not alone. They don't feel safe and they don't trust anyone. Most of the time, they are introverts and have very few friends.

Yes. Cutting is not a healthy things but is a thing many people have done or do. I have been there myself and once I stopped cutting I think it was safe to say I was no longer a self-harmer. If you have already stopped for a few months I would think it is safe to say that you are no longer a self-harmer and just someone who has harmed themselves in the past. I am happy to hear that you have stopped because that is great news. But even sometimes now although I haven't harmed myself for over a year I still have thoughts about doing it again. When I feel like that I believe that it's good to talk to somebody or find healthy and safe coping methods. I hope that this has helped. Please feel free to keep me updated!