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[dr_alcott]

Are you OK with people worrying about you?

I would recognize them instantly, but only because I've had two very close friends who were self-cutters. And then I would worry about you, even if by all other appearances you seemed absolutely fine. So as much as I'd like to tell you to bare all and not worry about it, I think Macaroon makes a good point:

What type of position are you in, and how old are the scars?

If you are tenured, and the scars are 20 years old, wear whatever you want.  Who cares if people think you had some troubles as a teen?

However, if your position is a short-term one where you need stellar letters of recommendation, keep hiding them.  People barely have enough time to know your work, and you wouldn't want these details about your personal life to get in the way of people's mental image of you.   Also, if they are recent, you might net yourself an intervention.  Fine if you have tenure.  Not fine if you are in a 1 year position.

I'm glad you're not doing it anymore.

[conjugate]

If you don't hide them, merely comment if anyone should ask that it should be illegal to use fragile glass in china cabinet doors.  You don't have to lie, just say something along the lines of how we all bear marks of dumb decisions and youthful folly, and you've learned to be careful around glass doors.

Alternatively, a story about how your cat decided not to go to the vet one time might also work.  Still, continuing to hide them until you have tenure (or at least a track record of reliability and stability).

[macaroon]

I posted what I did because I worked with a cutter ~8 years ago.  She was not very fashionable, and although she attempted to hide them, she was not successful.

Regrettably, that is all I remember about her.  I wish I remembered something about her work, I really do.  But I don't.  She must not have been incompetent, because I think I would have remembered that.  But I wish I could remember what her strengths were.

[bluezebracat]

Can I recommend that you talk to a dermatologist and get the scars removed, or at the very least, substantially lightened?

[pink_]

What worries me is less what I would think or how I would feel and more about how students whom you might interact with could react.  

Ed to add:  I don't want to come across as insensitive here, but depending on what kind of position you have and the kind of students you work with, your previous behavior could be perceived as a liability.

[chaosbydesign]

What worries me is less what I would think or how I would feel and more about how students whom you might interact with could react. 

Ed to add:  I don't want to come across as insensitive here, but depending on what kind of position you have and the kind of students you work with, your previous behavior could be perceived as a liability.

I can see your point about how students may react -- this is why I recommended using corrective foundation to cover it.

I don't think you can really say that a person who has had this sort of issue in the past is a liability, though. Everyone has their own way of coping with things, and a lot of people use methods which are percieved to be unhealthy -- that does not necessarily make the person a liability. Years down the line scars will still be visible even when a person no longer uses this particular coping mechanism, and judging someone on their past is hardly a fair judgement in any case.

[dr_alcott]

What worries me is less what I would think or how I would feel and more about how students whom you might interact with could react. 

Ed to add:  I don't want to come across as insensitive here, but depending on what kind of position you have and the kind of students you work with, your previous behavior could be perceived as a liability.

I can see your point about how students may react -- this is why I recommended using corrective foundation to cover it.

I don't think you can really say that a person who has had this sort of issue in the past is a liability, though. Everyone has their own way of coping with things, and a lot of people use methods which are percieved to be unhealthy -- that does not necessarily make the person a liability. Years down the line scars will still be visible even when a person no longer uses this particular coping mechanism, and judging someone on their past is hardly a fair judgement in any case.

I completely agree. Upthread, I mentioned that I have dear friends who were self-cutters. They are both much better now, and I know they aren't defined by it.

Even so, my experience with them has led me to worry about others when I've seen their scars, despite the fact that this may not be a rational response. I haven't felt it was my business to comment on their scars, so instead I've just worried, fully armed with the knowledge that they may be completely better now, that I have no idea what their life story is, and so on. So what I mean to say to the OP is that people will worry or make judgements even if they (we) should know better. It seems to me that that's something worth considering, even if the OP is OK with this.

[chaosbydesign]

What worries me is less what I would think or how I would feel and more about how students whom you might interact with could react. 

Ed to add:  I don't want to come across as insensitive here, but depending on what kind of position you have and the kind of students you work with, your previous behavior could be perceived as a liability.

I can see your point about how students may react -- this is why I recommended using corrective foundation to cover it.

I don't think you can really say that a person who has had this sort of issue in the past is a liability, though. Everyone has their own way of coping with things, and a lot of people use methods which are percieved to be unhealthy -- that does not necessarily make the person a liability. Years down the line scars will still be visible even when a person no longer uses this particular coping mechanism, and judging someone on their past is hardly a fair judgement in any case.

I completely agree. Upthread, I mentioned that I have dear friends who were self-cutters. They are both much better now, and I know they aren't defined by it.

Even so, my experience with them has led me to worry about others when I've seen their scars, despite the fact that this may not be a rational response. I haven't felt it was my business to comment on their scars, so instead I've just worried, fully armed with the knowledge that they may be completely better now, that I have no idea what their life story is, and so on. So what I mean to say to the OP is that people will worry or make judgements even if they (we) should know better. It seems to me that that's something worth considering, even if the OP is OK with this.

What you are saying makes sense, dr_alcott, and it is definitely something the OP needs to consider.

Personally, I dont want anyone worrying about me; even when I have told people about my own issues with this in the past, I have not wanted them to worry about me and have, on occasion, specifically told them not to. Maybe that makes no difference, I don't know, but if I do talk about it it is just as an explanation for the scars, sharing an experience, or explaining things that are happening/have happened in the past to show how something has affected me. In my mind it is, and always will be, my own personal problem to sort out and not one which I would want anyone else actively involved in or worrying about.