bus

Before You Self-Harm
write down the shadow that's hiding behind the urge. look at it. ask yourself:
I saw the Doctor. She thinks I may have damaged a nerve. Wants to refer me to specialists. I don't care now. I don't know why I reacted this way. My head is funny and I feel crap.
I also have college tomorrow, first time in mainstream since I went IP, induction day.

• how will this situation or feeling change if i hurt myself?
  I'm likely to do more damage to nerves so it'll get worse.
• what will hurting myself bring to the situation? what will it take away from the situation?
  Just make it more risky, crapper.
• 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 don't know and I don't feel like I care
• if hurting myself seems like my best option right now, how long will the relief it brings last? what will i do then?
  Enough, tonight.
• 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?
  See the specialist. I know I should.
• how will i feel tomorrow if i hurt myself? how will i feel tomorrow if i do the other thing i came up with?
  Crap either way
• 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 want to cut
But I am scared of my risk levels.

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.

I can't answer the others. I don't feel strong enough yet.

I am sorry you are hurting. It's good that you worked through these questions. What coping skills have you tried? What new skills can you try? I hope you feel better soon.

I have tried distraction techniques.
I think I left IP before I had a decent level of control over my SI.


I don't know