Self-Harm
For many recovering victims of abuse, self harm, like other destructive behaviour, has its basis in things we have tried to do to manage our pain filled lives. Recovery from these things leads us to a place where we can finally begin to recover from the things behind them.
Cutting Alternatives
1) Snap a rubber band around your wrist. It can be painful and something that can distract you and not leave marks.
2) The butterfly project Draw or have someone draw a butterfly on the place you usually self harm and name it. This has to be the name of someone special to you.. No matter if you love them, or if they want you to stop. However, if you cut, you kill the butterfly. to keep the butterfly alive you have to let it fade on its own. No scrubbing!
3) Use a pen or marker and draw lines as though you were self harming. its a psychological thing where you see blood where you want to cut and seeing the red marks makes your mind think you did it.
4) Use hobbies as a distraction. anything from horseback riding, to music, to clubs, to motorbikes, to playing an instrument. anything that will be a distraction.
5) Blast music and tune out the world. Dancing can also help.
6) Punch something; preferably a pillow or something soft
7) Write down your thoughts on posters or paper or on the computer and just get out your thoughts and feelings. Drawing also works.
8) Talk to someone; that one’s pretty simple. Sometimes just having someone there to talk you out of it helps.
9) Take a really hot or really cold shower. Take your time.
10) Scream. Just let it out.
11) Put salt on an ice cube and hold it as tight as you can. It can feel as though it would burn you.
12) Pluck your eyebrows. It can hurt a lot.
13) Paint. You can get out your emotions.
14) For every cut you cut, you can't cut for that amount of days. For instance if you cut 9 cuts, then you can't cut for nine days.
15) Find a friend/councilor/adult/sibling/parent that you can depend on or trust and have them on speed dial. It helps to have them close by so they can come and stay with you as long as you need them. these are people that you let everything out with, and that wont leave you.
16) Go outside. Walk for a while. Find a private place and just sit there, breathe, cry if you want to.
17) Draw. Sometimes it can help to draw yourself and write everything you feel about yourself on this image.
18) Cry it out. This helps a lot. Just let the tears flow, and don’t be afraid. Most people find it cleansing.
♥ ~ Sue
© 2017 Susan Parry-Jones
Cutting Alternatives
1) Snap a rubber band around your wrist. It can be painful and something that can distract you and not leave marks.
2) The butterfly project Draw or have someone draw a butterfly on the place you usually self harm and name it. This has to be the name of someone special to you.. No matter if you love them, or if they want you to stop. However, if you cut, you kill the butterfly. to keep the butterfly alive you have to let it fade on its own. No scrubbing!
3) Use a pen or marker and draw lines as though you were self harming. its a psychological thing where you see blood where you want to cut and seeing the red marks makes your mind think you did it.
4) Use hobbies as a distraction. anything from horseback riding, to music, to clubs, to motorbikes, to playing an instrument. anything that will be a distraction.
5) Blast music and tune out the world. Dancing can also help.
6) Punch something; preferably a pillow or something soft
7) Write down your thoughts on posters or paper or on the computer and just get out your thoughts and feelings. Drawing also works.
8) Talk to someone; that one’s pretty simple. Sometimes just having someone there to talk you out of it helps.
9) Take a really hot or really cold shower. Take your time.
10) Scream. Just let it out.
11) Put salt on an ice cube and hold it as tight as you can. It can feel as though it would burn you.
12) Pluck your eyebrows. It can hurt a lot.
13) Paint. You can get out your emotions.
14) For every cut you cut, you can't cut for that amount of days. For instance if you cut 9 cuts, then you can't cut for nine days.
15) Find a friend/councilor/adult/sibling/parent that you can depend on or trust and have them on speed dial. It helps to have them close by so they can come and stay with you as long as you need them. these are people that you let everything out with, and that wont leave you.
16) Go outside. Walk for a while. Find a private place and just sit there, breathe, cry if you want to.
17) Draw. Sometimes it can help to draw yourself and write everything you feel about yourself on this image.
18) Cry it out. This helps a lot. Just let the tears flow, and don’t be afraid. Most people find it cleansing.
♥ ~ Sue
© 2017 Susan Parry-Jones