Questions to Answer After A Slip
slips are chances to learn. you figure out what stresses are still too hard for you and you can work on how you'll deal with them next time you run into them. so instead of beating yourself up, take action.
- have you taken care of your physical wounds? if not, go do that now. we'll wait. yes, Gauze and an ace wrap.
- what had happened just before?
I was flipping out about my mom invading my privacy, saying some really degrading things to me, and it went from there
- what were you thinking and feeling?
Hurt, angry, betrayed, alone, abandoned
- why did you end up hurting yourself then instead of some other time? was there an event that was the final straw? what was it?
The final straw was me thinking of everything that had happened in the past few days, namely my boyfriend leaving me, my mom screaming at me, and invading my privacy and everything piled up and i felt like fucking shit, and i couldnt deal with it
- how did the situation get to the final straw stage? trace it back through the events that led up to the last event. look for some point at which you could have made a different decision and not arrived at the final straw. I could have tried to just sit and breathe. and not go out of my way to get my blades on the way to the shower. I could have just made myself walk to the shower, take a hot bath, and relax
- were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
no, ive just been really stressed out lately, and everything built up and i cracked
- what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work? I actually cried. I usually cant, but i was bawling my eyes out. I talked to someone from bus online, and she helped alot, but it was all too much to take in the end and i was just stupid and did it
- in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they? Breathing, hot bath minus blades.
- name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again. Make a list and hang it up, on a neon pink paper
- how do you feel about the situation that led to self-harm now? is it resolved? if not, what are some steps you might take toward resolution? no its not resolved, or even really dealt with. I dont know what to do, talk to alex about how i really feel?, ive already made my feelings clear to my mother
- are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation? mhmmmm
and ill recognise it cuz ill be flipping shit again
- what will you try before you resort to self-harm if you're in that situation again? list three specific things you will commit to trying.
About Opportunities to SI
Opportunity to Self-Harm seems to be a common theme. Think about why opportunities are important to slips and learn why opportunity is important to you.
- What made that opportunity more appealing than any other?
Fast easy way, that i knew would calm me down
- Did you make an opportunity or was it there for the taking?
it was there, i just had to get the blades then go shower
- What would you have done if there was no opportunity, how would you have handled your urge?
I woulda done something, to make an opportunity, cuz my mind was set on it.
- If there had been no opportunity would your urge to self-harm have increased or decreased? Increased by alot
- What consitutes opportunity for you? Being alone? having new tools? waiting for the right feeling?
alone, able to be alone for as long as i want...in this case, shower with a locked bathroom door
- If your opportunties were taken away, how would you feel?
thanks for the suggestion