TW potential self harm

[Truthhunter84]

My partner swears this was caused by an accident. I don't believe her. Opinions, please, and what can I do to help her?

Don't argue with her, don't judge her, listen to her and let her know you are there for her, no matter what.

That looks like self harm to me.

You don't need to do anything, just be there. Listen. Distract her. Say you care.

Do a basic first aid check too. Has she cleaned the wounds? If nit, you could bathe them for her. See if they need covering with a bandage. Does the skin feel hot to touch? Open wounds are an infection risk.

Whereabouts on the body is it?

From my experience that is self-harm. But she’s clearly not happy to disclose it. Keep it clean, and dry. Listen and try and remind her there are other things to do when the feeling comes. Sometimes leaving the room and going elsewhere is a good way to start trying to break the cycle.

Has she given permission to post this online, anonymously or not. And why. She states it was an accident. It doesn't look like an accident, but what is publicly posting pictures of self harm going to do to help her? She is lying about what it is, and either had a history of this (most likely) so has already gone through various MH routes or has done it for the first time. She doesn't any to admit what it is, so there is nothing you can do

Don't push her to admit its self harm. That's not the way to stop her doing this. The underlying issue/feelings that caused her to self harm is what she needs support with. Self harm is a symptom not the problem itself. If she's gotten to this stage she is struggling and she really needs support. Whether she'll be open to getting support or not I don't know.

You need to try and support her gently. You can't come at it from the self harm, like saying you know she's having a hard time because she self harmed. It might be better to leave it a few days and start having some general talks around how you're both feeling. Really focus when she talks see if you can work out what's going on for her. This is assuming there's nothing obviously behind this. It is unlikely you saw her self harm the first time she did this. There's no quick fixes, if she will engage and see her GP that could be a good first step, but it might be a little while before she feels able to do that. In the meanwhile being present, really listening and gently supporting her. If she opens up you can talk about some better coping techniques then self harm. Ultimately that's what self harm is, its a coping technique, a very harmful one, but it helps in the moment with what they're feeling.