self help

Handling a self injury problem on your own can be daunting... but it is not unheard of.  Seeking help for your problem is probably the best form of 'self help' that can be suggested, but therapy etc aside, you are the only person that can ultimately help yourself.  The 'self help' methods that people use vary from person to person.  You might find that something one person swears by has no affect on you.

The most important thing to remember about the following suggestions is that they are not cures.  The aim of the following suggestions is to help you not to harm yourself.  To help yourself get to the bottom of *why* you self harm usually requires a little more help.  

I spoke to various people about their SI-ing and ways in which they deal with it.  

'One of the parts of my treatment was to find a
"constructive output for anger", for example,
when you feel like cutting yourself,
go running, don't just jog, run as fast as you
can until you fall over, get all the anger out'

'My advice is to something creative instead, like draw,
play an instrument, write, whatever'

It seems that the name of the game is distraction.  I find that the following things have been mentioned by many people I know, and/or have helped me:

- Anything that keeps your hands busy - writing, drawing, typing, gluing...  (word of advice: stapling/cutting paper etc may not be quite so effective!!!)

- Keep your mind busy - read, write, sing at the top of your voice, watch a soppy romance or a silly children's movie, learn to play patience.

- Phone/E-mail someone - for those times when nothing else seems to work, a friend is the best support system you can hope for.  Join the list, and write to us when you feel like hurting yourself, keep a list of friend's phone numbers with you as emergency back-up.  Write e-mails to friends - whether you send them or not.  

- Set yourself targets - goals to see you through difficult parts of the day/week/month, with rewards for each one, can be extremely rewarding to you and can help take your mind of self injury.  Try and set yourself goals that you can reach - don't be too hard on yourself!

- Exercise!  - It will do you good health wise as well as taking your mind off things.  Pushing yourself hard in exercise can often help soften the desire to self injure. 

- Rubber bands - Many people suggest keeping a rubber band around your wrist (not too tight!) - pinging it against your skin when you feel the urge to cut can produce a little bit of pain that works for some and not for others.

- Draw in red pen in the areas you wish to self injure - this, again, works for some and not for others.  Many people like to see the sight of their own blood when cutting, and this can help to soften that need. 

If you have any more suggestions that you think I could add to the list, let me know!

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