Before

[ChaosCat]

Before You Self-Harm
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 change the situation, only the feelings.


what will hurting myself bring to the situation? what will it take away from the situation? It will make people mad and disappointed in me.


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 care about the long run right now. I just want to feel better even if only for an hour. I know I will feel worse and the need to hide and be ashamed if I do it, but I feel like I need to change the way I feel right now!


if hurting myself seems like my best option right now, how long will the relief it brings last? what will i do then? Maybe an hour. After that I won't be alone anymore.


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? Talk to people, but they are pissing me off. Write, but then I might feel like I need to cut even more.


how will i feel tomorrow if i hurt myself? how will i feel tomorrow if i do the other thing i came up with? either way I will feel angry and disappointed.


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 cry but be safe and talk it out... but i can't trust anyone...


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?
Stress and anxiety ongoing for weeks.

Have I been here before? What did I do to deal with it? How did I feel then? I have been here before and ignored it and disocciated... I ended up cutting then


What I have done to ease this discomfort so far? What else can I do that won't hurt me? Taken my meds like im supposed to. Cuddled with my dogs. Texted friends.


How do I feel right now? like i wanna curl up in a ball and cry


How will I feel when I am hurting myself? relieved... release...


How will I feel after hurting myself? How will I feel tomorrow morning? i will be angry and disappointed and feel ashamed...


Can I avoid this stressor, or deal with it better in the future? I can't avoid it. Don't know how to deal with it.


Do I need to hurt myself? Still torn...