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 went to the mall with my mom and saw someone I really didn't want to see and that really upset me.
- what were you thinking and feeling? I'm thinking I'm an idiot for SI-ing again after I managed not to for so long.I feel like I failed,and I feel guilty for actually feeling better after the SI.
- 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've been depressed and everything for a few weeks now,and I just felt like I didn't have a grasp on anything.I was already feeling like crap and thinking about the person and then I saw them and yeah,it really hit me hard. It's my fault though. - 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 think it just spiraled since I'm already stressed,and I haven't felt like I have anyone to talk to and then I ran into the one person who I used to be able to talk to and it made me feel very alone.
I could have went for a walk in the snow,instead of sitting in my room feeling crappy. - were there outside factors like drugs, alsohol, being off your meds, lack of sleep, etc? can you address those in the future? how? Maybe lack of sleep.Idk I haven't been sleeping good lately.
- what other ways of coping did you try besides self-harm? how well did they work? I cut a piece of paper.I hit my wrist with a rubber band.I called a friend.I was going to paint my nails but I have a small animal and I didn't want to choke him out.
- in retrospect, are there coping methods that you now realize might have helped? what were they?
I don't know.I'm sure there are lots of things but I just don't know. - name at least two things you will do to help yourself remember those coping methods if you end up in this situation again. I might make a list of coping things that work for me,becuase I know a lot of them don't work for me very well and some of them trigger me further.
- 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? I know deep down I'm hurt about it but I don't feel it right now.I don't feel anything.
It's not resolved and there's no way to resolve it which stresses me out even more because I've done everything in my power to work it out and was shot down every time. - are you likely to be in that emotional place again? how will you recognize it when you're in that situation?
Probably,It's a small town.
I don't know how I'll handle it.I guess I'll be glued to my coping list if it happens again. - 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.
