Looking for tips

[brokenthings]

so I'm new here and so I thought I post something. I started self harming at the age of 12 I am now 15. I'm a cutter. I have this weird pattern where I'm clean(no self harm) for a month or so but then I break and give into the urges and when I do there is a lot.. I don't usually do it again unless I'm really upset again. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips or advice on how I can keep going and stay clean and not give in.. If you do it'd be greatly appreciated if you shared them with me. thank you

[herebedragons]

Welcome to the boards! http://buslist.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=34500 This is a good thread to start with as far as coping skills go.

I find that distraction works well for me and the longer I go without it the easier it is to avoid. Different things work well for different people, but hopefully somewhere in that list you will find something that works for you.

[Just Pomegranates]

I'm a big fan of distraction as well.

I've found with my most recent sort of slump that marathoning seasons of TV shows on DVD that I'm following/getting into is an excellent distraction method. You get sucked into the show/cliffhangers and mentally engaged and want to keep watching more and more until eventually you forget about wanting to SI.

[treasure]

i found that my si was sometimes because i was overwhelmed by my feelings and i was less likely to be overwhelmed if i was able to get out feelings in some other ways. things like talking to someone or writing down your thoughts might be ways to help get out feelings. you might want to try to reward yourself for times when the urges are strong but you don't give in. learning how to be nice to yourself is one of the challenging goals that can help you stop si in my opinion.

[Stawberry_Lollipops]

Hi! Welcome to BUS! I hope you will find this forum helpful in coping with your self harm/cutting.

I definitely recommend the coping thread herebedragons suggested. It has some excellent resources and is a good starting place.

One thing that's really helped me besides distraction, is what I call the "five minute game". Basically I say to myself, "yes I CAN self harm but in five minutes." That way I'm not telling myself I can't which can just and most of the time for me strengthen the urge and make you want to self harm even more. Once five minutes is up I say to myself, "Yes, I can self harm but in another five minutes" and thus I try and aim for five more minutes. Once this is period of five minutes is up again, I basically say the same thing to myself, "I can self harm in five minutes but let's try go for another five." What I find is eventually the urge goes away or I get caught up in something else and forget about the urge completely.

The good thing about this little mind trick is you aren't telling yourself you can't self harm, you're just telling yourself to delay it which can be incredibly helpful as you aren't putting pressure on yourself not to do it, you're giving yourself permission. just not right now. And once again the urge eventually settles down and goes away or something distracts you. Try it, it may not work for you but it's definitely worked for me in helping overcome urges.

Hope you're doing okay

Ness

[Spidey]

Welcome to BUS! Have a welcome ! (It's tradition!)

Besides distractions/games, try answering the before/and after questions? It will give you some time to think about the who/what/where/when/why and contemplate what is taking you to that point and what you can do to avoid SI.

We also have a forum called "place", which is a place where you can start your own thread and journal how you're doing. You can post whatever you like as long as it adheres to board guidelines. If you want to look at a place thread to see how it works, click " place" on my signature. It will take you to my thread.

Good luck and welcome.