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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.
• what had happened just before?
  The feeling of being unreal had slowly been building for about the past day.
• what were you thinking and feeling?
  I was thinking that I was alone in my thoughts/feelings and worthless and unreal.
• 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?
  I knew it would make me feel better. I just wanted to feel real again.
• 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 forced myself to be around people more so I wouldn't have felt alone.
• were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
  No drugs/alcohol. I'm good on all my meds. I was going on a lack of sleep, though. I just get buzzed and can't get to sleep.
• what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work?
  I tried playing games online, but it didn't help this time.
• in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
  Yes. I realize that I could have asked someone to chat. I could have called one of my friends/family members to talk. I could have tried to get some sleep.
• name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again.
  I guess just remember that those are my options. I can't think of what to do to remind myself.
• 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?
  It's not resolved as I'm having trouble with sleep lately. I'm not really sure what to do about it. I could talk to my pdoc when I see him again about it.
• are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
  Yes, I'll probably be here every time I can't sleep and am feeling unreal. I have to realize that, as soon as I start feeling jittery and unreal, I need to try and change the course of events.
• 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.
  As I listed above - talking to people. Even if it doesn't keep me from SI'ing in the end, it seems to cut down on the severity of my cutting if I talk to people.

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 had just let myself get to the point where it seemed like the only thing to do.
• Did you make an opportunity or was it there for the taking?
  It just hit me.
• What would you have done if there was no opportunity, how would you have handled your urge?
  There's always an opportunity to hurt yourself.
• If there had been no opportunity would your urge to self-harm have increased or decreased?
  Increased.
• What consitutes opportunity for you? Being alone? having new tools? waiting for the right feeling?
  All of the above.
• If your opportunties were taken away, how would you feel?
  I would be lost.
• How can I deal with these feelings more effectively next time, before the urge to SI sets in?
  I guess be around people more/communicate, etc. Catch the feeling before it becomes overwhelming.