I have a friend who I know has been going through a really tough time this semester in high school. I wasn't totally sure how tough it had been, however, until she wore a tank top to school a few days ago, and there were clearly visible SH scars on her upper arm. They were very noticeable, but only three or four scars, so I sort of pushed it out of my head and tried to convince myself that the scars were caused by something else and not SH, even though they were uniform and matched other SH scars I'd seen before. Then today she showed up wearing shorts, and on her upper thighs there were very clear SH scars, and many more than on her arm. Undeniable. I noticed them, as did everyone, I'm sure, though obviously I didn't stare, and I didn't mention it to her. I think this might be her way of moving on from that very dark period of her life, and part of that might be acceptance of the scars. Or maybe she wants us to know what she went through. To like quantify it, in a way? I'm not sure. I don't think it's a cry for help. But it really caught me off guard. My friend and I used to be really close, but this year we've grown apart, and our relationship isn't close enough now where I would feel comfortable bringing it up. I still want to let her know I care about her. The scars caught me off guard and freaked me out a little, honestly. I know it shouldn't be anything to be ashamed of, but it scares me to think that my friend was feeling such immense pain and I didn't even know. I wish our relationship were closer because I want nothing more than to give her a big hug. But at the same time, she has been mean to me this year, and while my heart goes out to her, I have to reconcile that with the pain she has caused me. The SH scars just made this very real for me. As someone who gets SH urges but has never acted on them, seeing the SH scars today triggered me.