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?
my stepmom and stepsis left me home alone - what were you thinking and feeling?
i was craving it and tired of thinking about it - 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 was alone - 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 felt really bad the night before - lonely and empty. then waking up i still felt that way and i was alone so it was easy. i could've woken up my dad so he could stay with me. - were there outside factors like drugs, alcohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how?
i was off meds for the weekend. i can remember to take them next time. - what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work?
i reached out and asked for help from my friends. it just made me more upset when they told me it wouldn't be good for me. - in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
i can't think of any. - name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again.
- 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 getting there.
- are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
yes - i've been feeling lonely for quite a while.
- 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.
1. call my friends and tell them what i'm about to do, tell them the real reasons i'm feeling bad
2. sleeping it off
3. asking someone near me for help
