What do I say to people that ask about my scars without making them uncomfortable?

I say that are visible marks of what I went through and a reminder for me that there’s always a way to survive

You don't necessarily have to tell them what caused them/how you got them. You could just tell them you wouldn't want to talk about it, or you could be honest if you trust them!

It was a time in my life where I thought that self harming was the only thing that made me feel better I was wrong

If they start talking about them or point them out just said “can we not talk about this right now?” Or “I don’t really like talking about it” be confident in your words so that they’ll leave you alone

I like to say that they’re battle scars. But the battle was a government secret! It gives people a giggle and makes things a lot less awkward! If they insist, keep up the story!

I think honesty is key in this type of situation. Within your own comfort zone with this topic, I think telling someone right out is good. It prevents any misunderstandings and provides a channel for deeper or more in depth discussions on this topic in the future.

Say I have scars to remind me of the times of hardships and how I have overcome them. If they ask further on, simply say that scars are in the past for a reason.

You can just say that they are scars. If you trust that person fully, you can tell them the reason why you have the scars, but it completely up to you. You do not owe anyone the answer to why you got the scars if you feel like it may make you or them uncomfortable.

you really owe no one an explanation of anything on your body ever. unless you're comfortable sharing. if they're a human being worth knowing your truths, full of empathy, you wouldn't have to worry about them being uncomfortable. sometimes i put my past in simple terms for people with something along the lines of "at one point i struggled very hard with my mental health" etc etc. but understand you never need to tell anyone anything, its been a personal journey only you have experienced yourself in your own skin. forget judgement, everyone has a vice or a poor coping mechanism at some point in time. as long as they remain scars and not open wounds sometimes thats all that matters to me, personally :)

Tell them the truth to why you have those scars, that's what i do and most times, people will support you after they've found out. if you get asked by a little child like i sometimes do just say you hurt yourself in an accident, they won't understand until they grow up so it's best you don't tell children the truth (you shouldn't or they'll probably tell their parents and that would cause a lot of trouble for you if their parents knew you, they wouldn't want their child knowing about self harm at the age of 5 or something) best case scenario: don't say anything, shrug.