after

[microsue]

have you taken care of your physical wounds? if not, go do that now. we'll wait.
not applicable

what had happened just before?
I posted in my place apologizing for being so thick-headed and "yes, but..."

what were you thinking and feeling?
miserable; feeling like a failure; wanting to cut; angry with myself; in a lot of physical pain; very depressed

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 end of a very difficult night

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.
possibly treating my physical pain with alternating heat/cold or some other non-narcotic treatment (unfortunately, those don't seem to work for me with my severe chronic pain)

were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
lack of sleep. trying to address.

what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work?
mostly reading and posting in the forums, which helped some; some time in Chat, which didn't help much.

in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
I didn't call Crisis to talk to my support person there until afterwards.

name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again.
Normally, I always call Crisis to talk to Don before si-ing. I just didn't want to be talked out of it.

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. part of the problem is severe chronic physical pain. part is mental anguish from work being done in therapy. both will probably continue.

are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
yes.

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.
I'm sorry. at this particular moment I want to do it again. I'll come back when I can help myself better, and finish up.


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?


Did you make an opportunity or was it there for the taking?


What would you have done if there was no opportunity, how would you have handled your urge?


If there had been no opportunity would your urge to self-harm have increased or decreased?


What consitutes opportunity for you? Being alone? having new tools? waiting for the right feeling?


If your opportunties were taken away, how would you feel?