Those words “oh so you’re a cutter,” have rang through my head this entire past week since a very ignorant man decide to repeatedly say that to me and act out the motion of cutting one’s wrist. For a little back story, I have a tattoo of a semicolon on my wrist and that symbol stands for self harm and suicide awareness. I have because there was a time in my past when I was bullied, extremely depressed, and yes did a form of self harm. I am grateful though that it was not cutting and that I no longer do it because if that was the case my reaction to what he said might have been much more intense than just being pissed and inspired to write this article.

So many people today have either battled or are still battling with depression, self harm, or they have people very dear to them that are. We do not know each other’s story after meeting them for a couple of minutes. This is why you have to be careful to what you say. I know someone who stills battles with depression and I know another who still battles with a form of self harm, and it kills me to think that if they would have had that tattoo and this person would have walked up to them what the results might have been. Let’s say that the person I know who still sadly uses self harm as an outlet was the one who was approached and had those ignorant words spoken to them, it could have very well set them off and led them to go home and use that outlet. It is sad but true how greatly one another’s words can affect each other.

To be clear self harm is not healthy and not something someone should try or keep trying, but for some people who are stuck in that cycle it can be dangerous to hear those words. Also I know some people think that self harm is just a cry for attention, but it is not. Someone who battles with this is not looking for you to say “poor them” it is a cry for help and an outlet to how they channel and deal with their pain. It is a since of feeling control, of being able to decide when and where they feel pain in their lives when they very well might not be able to control anything else. This is a medical condition and should be treated as such and with delicate words and actions. If one of the people who use this as an outlet or used to use it were to get a tattoo to honor their battle and then have someone make fun of them for it, those words that, that person might use can be one of the biggest set backs they had in awhile. The bottom line for this is to watch what you say and how you come across in all areas of life. If someone tells you they have a tattoo with any kind of personal meaning, the right and smart thing to do is to be respectful and kind and to not make fun of them for it; whether or not you like the tattoo it does not matter. The reason is, is that you never know what type of affect your words can have on someone.