Self-Injury Support Group

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this (didn't read through all the pages) and I'm sorry if I'm just being repetitive, but has anyone tried scraperfoil art? I find it super helpful because it's a focused distraction but also because you're using a tool to scrape away ink and I guess it's a similar motion to the way I used to self harm. I think it's Reeves that make them..they're like copperfoil and silverfoil kits for kids where there's lines for you to trace over to create a picture. You can buy the small ones for pretty cheap, from $3-$5 I think.

Oh, and one more that I did mention somewhere else! I get a really somatic response when I feel the need to self-harm and I've found that wrapping a gauze bandage around the area I used to harm myself the most really helps. It needs to be relatively tight and put a bit of pressure on my arm, but it doesn't cause any pain but for some reason it causes the somatic response to pass. It's like I've tricked my brain into thinking I've self-harmed because I've skipped a step and gone straight to the end, where I've got a bandage on my arm. Please try this - I've found it to be a lifesaver when nothing else seems to work!

That sounds like a great coping skill.

Most of the time when I want to self-injure, it's like a subconscious sudden urge and I do it before I even have a chance to stop and think about what I am doing. If I could get myself to think for a minute, I could probably prevent from doing it with coping skills...but I can't get myself to stop and think. Does anyone have tips for how to get a moment to pause and think...?

I usually stop myself a moment and talk to myself. Is this what I really want? I also journal or call someone. Sometimes I don't do these things until afterwards, but it stops me to make me think.

For anybody that uses pills, try tic tacs instead. They look like little pills, but you can chew as many as you want and it's not actually self harming.

Zahkaryuh, are you aware of any triggers? I'm guessing the first step is to look back and find trigger and ask yourself if your breathing changes.

Here are some things that I do to cope,

1. Write (Whether it be poetry, journal, stories)

2. Coloring books

3. Doodling

4. Photography

Music, Venting to myself, Shower. Not many things help a great deal for me.