Before You Self-Harm
write down the shadow that's hiding behind the urge. look at it. ask yourself:
- how will this situation or feeling change if i hurt myself?
i will feel relieved
- what will hurting myself bring to the situation? what will it take away from the situation?
it'll take away my angst and SU ideation
- how do i want to feel about this in the long run? is hurting myself likely to get me closer to or farther from feeling that way?
i dunno, i dont wanna kill myself therefore i wanna SI
- if hurting myself seems like my best option right now, how long will the relief it brings last? what will i do then?
it'll last till i go to sleep and wake up in the morning
- what is something i could do now instead of hurting myself? how will it change the situation i'm in? how long will that change last, and what will i do then?
i posted but no one replied. im not an attention seeker i just wanted to talk to someone
- how will i feel tomorrow if i hurt myself? how will i feel tomorrow if i do the other thing i came up with?
nothing in particular, just another day
- what do i really want to do right now? how can i best honor the self-protective instinct that has me wanting to self-injure right now?
i wanna disappear
urges aren't necessarily the enemy. they happen for reasons, and they're an expression of a desire to stay alive and stay sane and keep coping. remember that.
More Before Questions To Answer
- Why do I feel I need to hurt myself? What has brought me to this point?
i dont wanna kill myself
- Have I been here before? What did I do to deal with it? How did I feel then?
i dont remember feeling suicidal and self harming instead but i've been in both situations separately. i either self injured or took a nap
- What I have done to ease this discomfort so far? What else can I do that won't hurt me?
i already wrote on my journal, drew and checked my blog to get distracted
- How do I feel right now?
suicidal
- How will I feel when I am hurting myself?
like i'm inside a dream
- How will I feel after hurting myself? How will I feel tomorrow morning?
tomorrow morning i'll feel ok about not killing myself
- Can I avoid this stressor, or deal with it better in the future?
maybe but it'd put me on evidence with my parents
- Do I need to hurt myself?