I've been encouraged to face difficult questions

recently to help develop my listening skills. I went swimming last night with a close friend and she asked me about the numerous scars on my left shoulder. I replied 'They're my legacy' which ended the conversation. I subsequently thought I could have described it as 'My depression's legacy' and that I'd really like to have explained to her in more detail for two reasons: first that I'd like to give her a valid explanation, and second that I know this won't be the last time someone asks me how I got the scars and I'd like to know how to deal with it in the future.

There are feelings about my scars which are good and bad. I see them as a constant reminder that I have to work to keep myself stable and not go back to that darkest of places. They remind me of how terribly low I was during that time, and how far I've progressed past the depression since. It's been more than two years since I last cut myself and that last episode was the catalyst to me going to the doctor and asking for proper, depression-busting help.

I'm very scared of what will happen when I get to know a woman, when we grow feelings for each other and head to bed, we undress and she sees my shoulder and it totally kills the mood and possibly the relationship. This is my worst fear. How do I manage that? I've no idea. It happened once and fortunately the lady involved didn't push for more detail other than 'I used to cut myself' when really it was only a few weeks previously I'd added to the scars and it wasn't my last episode.

I think I'm getting a bit lost here so I'll try and bring it back. I used to cut specifically when I'd been drinking heavily. This period of my life was one of the darkest and the cutting began when I'd been displaced from my regular living arrangement and was temporarily living in the darkest, dingiest flat in the whole of this town, which was 30 seconds from a nice pub. I was in a horrible place both physically and mentally and I got a lot of release and relief from cutting. Eventually I moved on from the hole-in-the-ground but not from the depression or the cutting, and after a lot of cheap strong cider and the biggest episode of cutting I phoned my mum and called for help. I ended up in a taxi to her house, sat on the steps outside her front door and told her I'd had enough, and she encouraged me to go to the doctors the very next morning. The rest is almost history, bar a couple of minor cuts in the weeks leading up to my counselling. The counselling and all the work I've done since have really sorted me out and I now know I'll never go back to who I was then.

So, how to answer the question when it comes up?

"I used to cut myself when I was depressed. I haven't done it for a long time and I won't do it again. I'm not that person any more. I'm not proud of my scars but they serve as a reminder of how far I've come since my darkest days. I'm happy to talk about it if you have any questions."

I don't know if that's too much or sufficient information. Obviously it will depend on how much I trust the individual to how open I am about my scars, but I feel somewhat comforted that I have considered a strategy for dealing with future questions about them, and that I've not even considered cutting myself for a long, long time.