bus

After:

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.
  yeah
• what had happened just before?
  I was in a class that brought up a lot of feelings
• what were you thinking and feeling?
  hurt, just wanting to give in
• 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?
  um, in a way I almost wanted to I guess, for a bit now I'd been in an odd place emotionally and this brought up strong feelings, stronger than before
• 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'd been teetering on this for a while now, it was very much about the opportunity this time I think. I wasn't in a safe place after class and I could have talked to the teacher or something after... although, I'm not quite sure about approaching her yet, I don't really know her too well and don't know exactly how yet. Another good thing to do was journal, it does help and that would have been a good choice
• were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
  no
• what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work?
  for the general feeling off and anxious I guess would be a good word for it that I had been feeling recently I had tried figuring out why I was feeling off, I was sure I got enough sleep, I tried eating right but was feeling sick but thought I did pretty well, I tried being with friends. They delayed the feelings but they kept coming back
• in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
  Talking to the teacher would be good so at least I'd leave being in a safer place, writing, I don't really know for the general down feeling I've been having though
• name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again.
  ummm if I remembered to bring my notebook with me and maybe designating the back for journalling before I leave- at the moment I think that would be best until I get to know the teacher, maybe I can try to make a point of that too though
• 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?
  the general triggery feeling is good I'm glad I don't have that anymore. The self doubt that the class brought up is still there a bit but I am looking at it more objectively again. I want to work on my confidence in myself as a person and as a student, but part of that will improve with time- It brought back feelings about B and things he would say to me, I don't know how to shut those down once they have started.
  
• are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
  I may be in something similar, I think I recognized the emotional place but kept going so I think I will try to take a step back when I start feeling this way
  
• 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.

talk to teacher or if I can, a friend whom I'm more comfortable talking with
writing
taking a drive to think instead of going straight home
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?
  I was in an emotionally vulnerable place
• Did you make an opportunity or was it there for the taking?
  emotionally it happened, but I'd been thinking about it before, so probably a little of both
• What would you have done if there was no opportunity, how would you have handled your urge?
  I would have let it lay and simmer like others before
• If there had been no opportunity would your urge to self-harm have increased or decreased?
  increased a bit and just added to what was there already
• What consitutes opportunity for you? Being alone? having new tools? waiting for the right feeling?
  the right feeling in this case, it was almost like ok now I can give myself permission to
• If your opportunties were taken away, how would you feel?

The definition for opportunity in this case, I would feel better, I think I could have sat out the down/ anxious feelings better