Pete Davidson recalled his past struggles with suicidal ideation and self-harm.
“I used to cut,” Davidson, 32, told Variety in a Wednesday, September 30, profile. “Some of [my tattoos] covered up the cuts.”
Davidson, who has since begun laser tattoo removal on a number of his designs except for one of Hillary Clinton, has previously been candid about his mental health struggles.
“I’ve been self-harming since I was a kid and, up until a year ago, I used to cut and bang my head against walls,” he said on a 2024 episode of Jon Bernthal’s “Real Ones” podcast. “If I couldn’t do something, if someone told me something said … [that] I couldn’t deal with, I would bang my head against the wall, hoping I would pass out because I just didn’t want to be in that situation because I couldn’t handle that.”
According to Davidson, his self-harm feelings have slowly subsided “less and less and less” over the years due to therapy sessions.
“You have to use these skills, and there’s this great workbook that I recommend called the DBT Workbook,” he said, referring to the practice of dialectal behavioral therapy. “It teaches you these skills, like, ‘OK, you want to cut, right now go take a cold shower, listen to your favorite song, watch a movie, go call your friend, like, do anything you can ‘cause that feeling, most of the time, goes away after 15 [or] 20 minutes.”
At the time, Davidson admitted that he still struggles with “black-and-white thinking.”
“I’ve gotten a lot better, but it’s still pretty bad where everything’s either all amazing and you’re rocking … or it’s the worst thing in the world,” he said. “I had to learn that if one little thing isn’t going the right way that doesn’t mean the whole ship sinks. It’s just, like, ‘OK, remove that part and you’re OK,’ but you have to learn that.”
Davidson further acknowledged that he used to “lose it from little things.”
“You have to learn how to work though that,” he stated. “You gotta own your s***, like it happens to me a lot when I feel really helpless or I’m embarrassed or I feel ashamed. Like, if I upset someone or if I accidentally say something the wrong way ‘cause I know what it feels like … and I had to learn that it’s OK if you accidentally make a joke someone doesn’t like or say something that triggers someone. That doesn’t mean they’re even mad at you, it’s just, like, pause a second and move on. I would think I just ruined everything.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
