write down the shadow that's hiding behind the urge. look at it. ask yourself:
- how will this situation or feeling change if i hurt myself? It won't.
- what will hurting myself bring to the situation? what will it take away from the situation? Pain. Dirty.
- 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? clean. It won't make me feel clean. It will make me feel dirtier.
- if hurting myself seems like my best option right now, how long will the relief it brings last? what will i do then? Minutes. Half an hour maybe. If I go to sleep it will be there in the morning.
- 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? take another bath. Work. Read. Go drive.
- how will i feel tomorrow if i hurt myself? how will i feel tomorrow if i do the other thing i came up with? Like shit.
- 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 I want to I don't know.
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.
More Before Questions To Answer
- Why do I feel I need to hurt myself? What has brought me to this point? It feels different. Its real. I don't imagine it. It not fake.
- Have I been here before? What did I do to deal with it? How did I feel then? Yes. I trimmed.
- What I have done to ease this discomfort so far? What else can I do that won't hurt me? Washed. Washed. Washed. Get dirty. Oil and grime. Washed it off. Pet the dog. She don't care if she dirty. Washed my hands.
- How do I feel right now? DIRTY
- How will I feel when I am hurting myself? clean.
- How will I feel after hurting myself? How will I feel tomorrow morning? sick. Hurting. Hurt to walk.
- Can I avoid this stressor, or deal with it better in the future? no maybe
- Do I need to hurt myself? need need need need no. just want. Its want. Not need. Want. Want o. want tobclean
