To ask if you'd judge someone if they had obviously self harm scars?

[ConfuzzledAboutStuff]

Posting for traffic. I have namechanged.

I self harmed as a teenager and now have a mass of healed scars up both arms (as faded as they'll ever be). I haven't hurt myself in almost 5 years. I'm a coward too scared to go swimming or wear short sleeves for fear of people seeing and judging.
So that's what I'm asking. Would you judge if you saw someone with scars that were obviously from self harm?

I don't judge at all. I see so many scars like that in my line of work. Sadly it's very common.

I have heard testimonials from a friend with lots of arm scars that bio oil is very good applied with cotton wool if you are after reducing them but not a requirement imo

*Can't agree with this though. We need the stigma and the worry about been discovered or known about to be there or what incentive is there not to do it? Nobody can help falling or having cancer but self harm is (usually) a choice of coping mechanism. Barring psychosis or severe depression people aren't forced into self harm against their will.

Personally, I found it severely addictively, calming, hypnotising, relieving, invigorating and many other positive things. It helped me cope when I couldn't think how else to process thoughts and emotions and kept me functioning when I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. If there was no stigma and everyone accepted it as something that could be visible with no shame - well, I'd just have at it, tbh! It's not like being suicidal and it's not particularly dangerous. To many (I want to say most but I don't really know) self harmers there is no reason not to it other than how unacceptable it is.*

That's a bizarre argument. For a start stigma didn't stop me self-harming, it just meant I kept it hidden. And for a second, if it had stopped me cutting, my next choices would have been not eating, or punching things so hard I broke bones, which are both way more harmful that cutting. So I'm not seeing how keeping up the stigma does anything beneficial at all

When did stigma about something ever act as an effective incentive not to do it? The stigma of being an unmarried mother that prevailed for centuries never stopped people having sex - or babies. And led to far more dangerous practices, as yellowfrog says.

I've always thought of myself as an observant person, but I sat next to a colleague for 2 years before I noticed that part of her finger was missing. It was a real 'wtf happened to your finger?!' moment, which she found hilarious as it had happened over 10 years ago. I'm glad she saw the funny side

But to answer your question: on the off-chance I did notice, no I wouldn't judge someone with scars on their arms. What is there to judge?!

Definitely wouldn't judge. I'd just hope that was causing them the need to harm themselves was now dealt with or manageable.