Self harm isn't about how much damage you do, it's about causing pain and punishing yourself. The problem here is that this generation has this huge fixation on self harm, there is a culture almost encouraging it. If you self harm, you are not a 'self harmer'. It's not an identity, it's an act. It's a coping mechanism. You are not your problems. You are your own complicated, interesting person who doesn't deserve to be simplified and boxed in by one small aspect of your life.
It's good that you do not want to relapse, it means that you're overcoming self harm. There are a lot of factors that come into play here, like how long you did it for, why you did it, how often you did it, how addictive your personality is, how you're feeling now and your life situation etc. Not wanting to relapse isn't a sign of how bad a 'cutter' you are, it's an indication of how far you've come in your recovery. Eight months is amazing, and it sounds like you're ready to take on the next eight months with ease. You've got totally got this. You don't need to justify your pain to anyone. Not to me, not to anyone on this website, not to people you decide to tell. Nobody. If we start to compare people's pain to another, we restart the vicious idea that you can't have problems if someone has it worse. Which is false. Pain is pain, it hurts, it sucks, and no matter what degree you experience it, you still experience it, and it's still valid. It still happened.
Self harm escalates, it gets worse and worse. Stopping before you reach the point of inflicting serious damage on yourself is the absolute best outcome in this situation. You are not giving yourself credit. You recognized your problem, and you overcame it. I know it's hard when everyone around you seems to be doing it worse, doing more damage, having sadder stories etc, but the truth is, not being one of those people is better than doing the most damage or having the saddest story. Pain is not a competition. Your struggle, big or small, still matters. I hope this helps. Congratulations.
