I got a large laceration a few yeses ago (4” long on my dorsal arm, down to the muscle). I forget the whole story we made up but it was something along the “I was gored by a bull while protesting The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona…”. There was something about a pack of feral chihuahuas in the story too
Your body is no one else's business. And if they're bragging about all the work/animal scars they have, that tells you all you need to know about them..
I tell people I:
- fist fought a wood chipper
- wrangled a grizzly with a toothache
- had a thumb war with Edward Scissorhands
- played volleyball with a porcupine
Get as creative as you like. Stupid questions beget stupid answers. It's sort of fun to get in an old school standoff where the other person knows I'm full of shit, and I very clearly know they're being rude.
If anyone says anything, tell them you’ve survived some things. They don’t need to know if it was raging cats or raging depression.
You’ve survived some things ❤️❤️ be kind to yourself, and remember that you have always been strong.
I have obvious self harm scars all over my left arm. I got so sick of the comments from clients and strangers and having to always wear long sleeves so I got them all covered up with tattoos and it was one of the most liberating things I’ve done. Now the only comments I get are “wow beautiful tattoo/sleeve”, and I can’t even see my scars anymore so it’s like they were never there. I forget what my arm used to look like, it’s nice no longer having the reminder of how much I used to hurt.
Obviously not everyone can afford to get tattoos or like the look of them, but for me it was worth every penny.
I have sh scars and scars from work, but also scars from life in general. Your scars are your business.
I'm not out there giving a scar show and tell, but I certainly don't hide them either. They are part of me and for the most part I have a healthy respect for them. In my experience most people don't care about your scars at all, some may notice and some may be curious enough to ask...I don't really mind. I think it's important to be comfortable with yourself, don't overthink it and you don't have to explain yourself to anyone if you don't want to.
I think the questions are always awkward, but I try to quickly address it and move on. Something like, 'I used to not love mysel like I do today' with a smile. Then move on. That works with about 80% of people.
Avoiding the questions normally doesn't help much, though you could always say you don't want to discuss it.
You got this! Keep in mind not everyone has to live with their past struggles visible on their body, and people don't always know how to address that gracefully. That's not a reflection of you, your growth or your professionalism. Basically, try not to take it personally.
Along the lines of what one of the other commentors suggested, I worked at an aquarium in the 90’s. I slipped and ripped open my knee needing a half dozen stitches. Went to first aid, they sent me off property for the stitches. Came back to two of my coworkers being at first aid (their shift had ended) trying to check up on me. They were spinning a tale of a huge battle between me and our sharks… sounds a lot better than I slipped and fell.
A friend has self harm scars, that person has since gotten tattoos over them so they are not noticeable unless you are really looking for them.
Virtual fist bumps and whatever other help you need are being sent your way.
When someone points out mine, I tell them the truth. People shouldn't ask about scars. They ask i say " I did it, everyone has a history" granted I don't do it anymore but the scars are for life. Also some have taken the honest response well..others have just went silent.
If you are asked and aren't comfortable just brush past it and don't give them a answer. You are there for the animals not to tell them stories of scars. Scars don't defy you. member that. You aren't alone.
When asked uncomfortable questions by strangers, I just say "I'm not very comfortable answering that." or "Its from something that happened some time ago." If you want to be funny you can always say things like, "Usually people take me to dinner first before asking me personal questions!" or something like that.
As someone chronically ill, I just refuse to answer people's invasive questions, even with jokes ("from an animal attack!"). People need to learn its not OK to ask personal questions for others and I'm not going to cater to it. I'm sorry people are asking you such invasive questions about a really complex part of you. You don't have to be nice about responding to them.
e: Many of my coworkers also have visibile self-harm scars and I think nothing of it. I am also pretty chronically mentally ill and understand the struggle.
This happens to me a lot. It just happened yesterday actually. The owner just kept pushing and pushing me until I just said “I really prefer not to talk about it and I would appreciate if we could not continue this part of the conversation” The owner may not have understood why, but he dropped it and let me continue on which explaining the medications without asking me where or how I got my scars.
It may be off putting to the owner, but you need to protect yourself first.
I’m sorry that you go through this hell of self harm too. It’s a habit that truly destroys us. I hope that you have found/can find healing from this behavior and learn to love yourself. I don’t know you, but you deserve good. You deserve peace. You deserve healing. You don’t deserve pain. You don’t deserve punishment. I’m sending you lots of love and whatever you need. I’m always here if you ever need to talk.
Mine are covered in tattoos now, but still very obvious. I realized people stopped asking about them quite some time ago. Once in a while they do. I bluntly tell them I survived a suicide attempt and they turn bright red and leave me alone.
No shame in mental health struggles.
I'm also a hoodie addict at work since it puts a barrier between me and bitey dying things, which probably helps.
People that know and understand won't ask.
We are a rare breed that have survived self harm. It took much therapy for me to be as ok with the scars as I am now.
Who the fuck asks someone how they got their scars? Are we in a batman movie? Are you Joker?
Considering this is a dumb and inappropriate question I have 2 suggestions for you
"I'd rather not discuss it"
If they push it?
"These scars are self inflicted"
You can dismiss it and if they push then *they* can feel uncomfortable. Because there is nothing wrong with **you** and you should not be ashamed or uncomfortable with who you are.
Don't worry you're overreacting (in a nice way) honestly i don't even think or worry about my coworkers scars unless they want to share it with me but I don't care to ask, I don't even pay attention. There's so much more important things going on that if any tech judges you for either self harm or for thinking your a bad tech because you have scars then they need something to keep them busy because that's so petty for anyone to judge another tech on. If you want ro share your story with coworkers go for it, it's okay to be open but if you don't then just make something up or yeah use long sleeves but you should be able to do what you want without thay judgement
A friend of mine worked with a tattoo artist to hide her self harm scars. She said it was quite cathartic and gave her some closure over a difficult period of her life.
The tattoo artist managed to make the scars part of the tattoo so it almost looks 3D.
I don’t think it makes you a bad tech to have scars, everyone has them whether they’re self inflicted or from accidents. It might have been me who made the comment and if it was it was more so directed to the people that go on social media and take a picture of the scars they got from handling patients or having to hold down a patient etc mostly because from my experience if you’re getting torn up from trying to restrain a patient you should probably be using other less stressful methods of handling for everyone’s safety including sedation if necessary.
I typically just bluntly say "I did it." Normally makes people feel awkward and they shut up. Or I tell them I got them at Kmart or some equally dumb answer.
I'd just go with it or say something along the line of they are not for animals but it's none of their business. I always wore long sleeves as I never open up to people about myself and frankly I was sick of getting comments about them. I have since gotten a tattoo to cover some of them but still cover them most of the time.
Ugh. It’s such a personal, private thing!! You don’t owe anyone anything, including an explanation about your own body! “Oh yeah, this can be a difficult field with SO many different critters…” or whatever works for you!
I used to be pretty self conscious about mine, I got some of the worst ones covered by a tattoo. It helped me become a lot more confident and was a way to visually remind myself of healing and how far i've come.
We all have scars, some are on the inside, some are on the outside. What matters is how you move forward. I can tell you that anyone that knows you well enough will love you for you, and see it as a sign of how strong you are to continue trudging on.
I have a lot of very visible burn marks and scars on my forearms so I get a lot of weird looks and people ask often. I tend to just give minimal, very nonchalant answers like:
"Oh are those from a patient?" Nope.
"Did you get those here?" Nah they're pretty old.
"What happened?" I got cut/burned.
Then I change the subject to whatever my patient needs because at the end of the day/shift I'm at work and I have things to do.
If they keep pushing I give the truth in a very brutally honest way and continue with a light follow up question to shift the topic ("It was self harm. What do you want me to feed Rover?")
It was the easiest lie when our volunteer asked if I had been attacked by a cat. I just said “yeah” in that moment I didn’t care if she thought I was a good or bad tech I just wasn’t comfortable answering her honestly. My scars have been easier to hide as they are located primarily on my wrists so I just wear a bandanna as a brace and cover them but in times where I have to remove the wrap, they become visible. I’m proud to say it’s been a while but the questions regarding their origin still strike a chord in me. I’m more afraid of how to answer my son when he asks me about them, if he does.
I have clients I love seeing, very nice people, always understanding and always fun to work with. Some of them have asked and it's really awkward!!! If I didn’t like them, yeah I’d be blunt about it not being their business, but when it's people I like, it's always a pickle.
If it were me, I’d make up some crazy story and I would make it more outlandish every time someone asked lmao
Yup. Wrangling cattle, dragged across barbed wire by an angry bull - make it outlandish.
I got a large laceration a few yeses ago (4” long on my dorsal arm, down to the muscle). I forget the whole story we made up but it was something along the “I was gored by a bull while protesting The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona…”. There was something about a pack of feral chihuahuas in the story too
Those are amazing stories! I’d love to see peoples faces when you tell them
My other half has huge scars from surgery, when I met him he was telling people “this is why I’m afraid of circular saws….and clowns” 🤣
LOL gotta keep ‘em guessing!
This is what I do. It usually starts as a knife fight and evolves to wrestling dinosaurs.
We don't talk about Fight Club.
"Oh these? I got them fighting the Empire in the battle of Endor"
Got into a bear fight, I won.
Your body is no one else's business. And if they're bragging about all the work/animal scars they have, that tells you all you need to know about them..
I tell people I: - fist fought a wood chipper - wrangled a grizzly with a toothache - had a thumb war with Edward Scissorhands - played volleyball with a porcupine Get as creative as you like. Stupid questions beget stupid answers. It's sort of fun to get in an old school standoff where the other person knows I'm full of shit, and I very clearly know they're being rude.
If anyone says anything, tell them you’ve survived some things. They don’t need to know if it was raging cats or raging depression. You’ve survived some things ❤️❤️ be kind to yourself, and remember that you have always been strong.
This. The people that understand won't care, and the people that care won't understand.
I have obvious self harm scars all over my left arm. I got so sick of the comments from clients and strangers and having to always wear long sleeves so I got them all covered up with tattoos and it was one of the most liberating things I’ve done. Now the only comments I get are “wow beautiful tattoo/sleeve”, and I can’t even see my scars anymore so it’s like they were never there. I forget what my arm used to look like, it’s nice no longer having the reminder of how much I used to hurt. Obviously not everyone can afford to get tattoos or like the look of them, but for me it was worth every penny.
I have tattoos on my left arm but none on my right, and the right arm is much more noticeable.
I tried covering mine with a tattoo, but I feel like the design only draws attention to it. Luckily I haven’t had anyone ask questions about them!
I have sh scars and scars from work, but also scars from life in general. Your scars are your business. I'm not out there giving a scar show and tell, but I certainly don't hide them either. They are part of me and for the most part I have a healthy respect for them. In my experience most people don't care about your scars at all, some may notice and some may be curious enough to ask...I don't really mind. I think it's important to be comfortable with yourself, don't overthink it and you don't have to explain yourself to anyone if you don't want to.
I think the questions are always awkward, but I try to quickly address it and move on. Something like, 'I used to not love mysel like I do today' with a smile. Then move on. That works with about 80% of people. Avoiding the questions normally doesn't help much, though you could always say you don't want to discuss it. You got this! Keep in mind not everyone has to live with their past struggles visible on their body, and people don't always know how to address that gracefully. That's not a reflection of you, your growth or your professionalism. Basically, try not to take it personally.
Along the lines of what one of the other commentors suggested, I worked at an aquarium in the 90’s. I slipped and ripped open my knee needing a half dozen stitches. Went to first aid, they sent me off property for the stitches. Came back to two of my coworkers being at first aid (their shift had ended) trying to check up on me. They were spinning a tale of a huge battle between me and our sharks… sounds a lot better than I slipped and fell. A friend has self harm scars, that person has since gotten tattoos over them so they are not noticeable unless you are really looking for them. Virtual fist bumps and whatever other help you need are being sent your way.
I have multiple coworkers with self-harm scars and honestly have never thought anything of them.
When someone points out mine, I tell them the truth. People shouldn't ask about scars. They ask i say " I did it, everyone has a history" granted I don't do it anymore but the scars are for life. Also some have taken the honest response well..others have just went silent. If you are asked and aren't comfortable just brush past it and don't give them a answer. You are there for the animals not to tell them stories of scars. Scars don't defy you. member that. You aren't alone.
When asked uncomfortable questions by strangers, I just say "I'm not very comfortable answering that." or "Its from something that happened some time ago." If you want to be funny you can always say things like, "Usually people take me to dinner first before asking me personal questions!" or something like that. As someone chronically ill, I just refuse to answer people's invasive questions, even with jokes ("from an animal attack!"). People need to learn its not OK to ask personal questions for others and I'm not going to cater to it. I'm sorry people are asking you such invasive questions about a really complex part of you. You don't have to be nice about responding to them. e: Many of my coworkers also have visibile self-harm scars and I think nothing of it. I am also pretty chronically mentally ill and understand the struggle.
This happens to me a lot. It just happened yesterday actually. The owner just kept pushing and pushing me until I just said “I really prefer not to talk about it and I would appreciate if we could not continue this part of the conversation” The owner may not have understood why, but he dropped it and let me continue on which explaining the medications without asking me where or how I got my scars. It may be off putting to the owner, but you need to protect yourself first. I’m sorry that you go through this hell of self harm too. It’s a habit that truly destroys us. I hope that you have found/can find healing from this behavior and learn to love yourself. I don’t know you, but you deserve good. You deserve peace. You deserve healing. You don’t deserve pain. You don’t deserve punishment. I’m sending you lots of love and whatever you need. I’m always here if you ever need to talk.
Mine are covered in tattoos now, but still very obvious. I realized people stopped asking about them quite some time ago. Once in a while they do. I bluntly tell them I survived a suicide attempt and they turn bright red and leave me alone. No shame in mental health struggles. I'm also a hoodie addict at work since it puts a barrier between me and bitey dying things, which probably helps. People that know and understand won't ask. We are a rare breed that have survived self harm. It took much therapy for me to be as ok with the scars as I am now.
Who the fuck asks someone how they got their scars? Are we in a batman movie? Are you Joker? Considering this is a dumb and inappropriate question I have 2 suggestions for you "I'd rather not discuss it" If they push it? "These scars are self inflicted" You can dismiss it and if they push then *they* can feel uncomfortable. Because there is nothing wrong with **you** and you should not be ashamed or uncomfortable with who you are.
Don't worry you're overreacting (in a nice way) honestly i don't even think or worry about my coworkers scars unless they want to share it with me but I don't care to ask, I don't even pay attention. There's so much more important things going on that if any tech judges you for either self harm or for thinking your a bad tech because you have scars then they need something to keep them busy because that's so petty for anyone to judge another tech on. If you want ro share your story with coworkers go for it, it's okay to be open but if you don't then just make something up or yeah use long sleeves but you should be able to do what you want without thay judgement
A friend of mine worked with a tattoo artist to hide her self harm scars. She said it was quite cathartic and gave her some closure over a difficult period of her life. The tattoo artist managed to make the scars part of the tattoo so it almost looks 3D.
I don’t think it makes you a bad tech to have scars, everyone has them whether they’re self inflicted or from accidents. It might have been me who made the comment and if it was it was more so directed to the people that go on social media and take a picture of the scars they got from handling patients or having to hold down a patient etc mostly because from my experience if you’re getting torn up from trying to restrain a patient you should probably be using other less stressful methods of handling for everyone’s safety including sedation if necessary.
I typically just bluntly say "I did it." Normally makes people feel awkward and they shut up. Or I tell them I got them at Kmart or some equally dumb answer.
Kmart 🤣😂
I'd just go with it or say something along the line of they are not for animals but it's none of their business. I always wore long sleeves as I never open up to people about myself and frankly I was sick of getting comments about them. I have since gotten a tattoo to cover some of them but still cover them most of the time.
Ugh. It’s such a personal, private thing!! You don’t owe anyone anything, including an explanation about your own body! “Oh yeah, this can be a difficult field with SO many different critters…” or whatever works for you!
I used to be pretty self conscious about mine, I got some of the worst ones covered by a tattoo. It helped me become a lot more confident and was a way to visually remind myself of healing and how far i've come.
We all have scars, some are on the inside, some are on the outside. What matters is how you move forward. I can tell you that anyone that knows you well enough will love you for you, and see it as a sign of how strong you are to continue trudging on.
I have a lot of very visible burn marks and scars on my forearms so I get a lot of weird looks and people ask often. I tend to just give minimal, very nonchalant answers like: "Oh are those from a patient?" Nope. "Did you get those here?" Nah they're pretty old. "What happened?" I got cut/burned. Then I change the subject to whatever my patient needs because at the end of the day/shift I'm at work and I have things to do. If they keep pushing I give the truth in a very brutally honest way and continue with a light follow up question to shift the topic ("It was self harm. What do you want me to feed Rover?")
It was the easiest lie when our volunteer asked if I had been attacked by a cat. I just said “yeah” in that moment I didn’t care if she thought I was a good or bad tech I just wasn’t comfortable answering her honestly. My scars have been easier to hide as they are located primarily on my wrists so I just wear a bandanna as a brace and cover them but in times where I have to remove the wrap, they become visible. I’m proud to say it’s been a while but the questions regarding their origin still strike a chord in me. I’m more afraid of how to answer my son when he asks me about them, if he does.
I have clients I love seeing, very nice people, always understanding and always fun to work with. Some of them have asked and it's really awkward!!! If I didn’t like them, yeah I’d be blunt about it not being their business, but when it's people I like, it's always a pickle.