PRAY. God cares and loves you. You can talk to him about anything.
Realize that you may need help. if you have been self harming or having suicidal thoughts, contact someone that you can trust and that cares for you before you do anything harmful to yourself or anyone else.
Tell someone you trust, about your feelings. This is one of the hardest steps. Chances are, if you’ve been hiding out for months, or maybe even years, and covering up all of your problems, it is going to be very difficult to suddenly open up. However, confiding in somebody who is trustworthy will be well worth it; they will be able to give you advice, support, help you understand your emotions, and be an alternative outlet rather than cutting. Don’t be discouraged if they seem shocked, scared, or maybe even horrified. Of course it will have a massive impact on them. Wait for the person to come to terms with, always be sure to confide in someone who you know will help you. Telling someone who will make your situation worse is not always a good idea, they could, as an example, tell others about it while you want to keep secrecy but it could help you in the long run.
Talk to this person whenever you have the urge to self harm. When you feel like self harming, confide in a teacher, school counselor, parent, friend, relative, etc. If they don’t know about your current struggle, tell them about it and tell them you need their help.
Keep a hotline number with you at all times. When you feel the urge to self harm, pick up the phone and call the hotline. Crisis hotline staff are trained to provide support and offer you alternatives to self harming. If you haven’t gathered the courage to open up to someone close to you yet, then talking anonymously on an untracked hotline would be a good idea. Whenever you feel like harming, call the hotline number and tell them how you’re feeling. Soon, you will start to learn a lot more about your emotions. The staff will be able to help you view your situation in a more positive way.
Try talking to a professional crisis clinician. It is clear that it is not their job to “talk you out of” harming yourself- you make your own choices and you must take responsibility for your actions. However, talking to your GP or another professional and notifying them of your situation will help. They may be able to tell you if you have the symptoms of a disease or disorder (depression, etc.) that may be contributing/causing you to self harm. They may also be able to refer you to a clinic or support group.
Remove any objects you have used before to self harm from your immediate area. If you have time to search for something harm yourself with, you may just be able to crush the impulse. One minute can determine whether or not you self harm. Don’t keep sharp objects on your table, and don’t put razors in a close drawer or cupboard. If you do not yet feel able to throw out your tools, try to delay getting to them by keeping them wrapped up tightly and high up on hard-to-reach shelves, and try to distract yourself when you get the urge.
Identify the ‘trigger’ that gives you the urge to self harm. The moment you have the urge to harm yourself, stop and think of what has just occurred. Remember it and try to avoid these situations. For example, if you’ve just had an argument with somebody close to you, and are having the urge to self harm, stop and ask yourself what’s making you feel this way; “I feel like harming myself because I’ve just had an argument with somebody I love, and it’s making me feel really bad.” Determine what in particular makes this situation trigger off negative emotions: a certain feeling, or maybe an action? Work on reducing this issue until you have it under control or completely diminished.
If you need to hurt yourself, do it in a controlled and less harmful way. A good idea is to wear a rubber band around your wrist. Every time you want to cut, snap the rubber band against your wrist instead. You can also draw on your wrist with red pen, or rub an ice cube on your wrist. Although all of these cause some immediate pain, it is much milder and much less dangerous.
Express your emotions. For example, when you feel like harming, try doing one or more of the following:
Drawing or scribbling on paper (some folks like butterflies)
Painting, on white paper
Get a punch bag of some sort to relieve your anger on.
Listening to music that relates to your emotions and has a positive effect on them.
Squeeze ice cubes until they melt.
Writing down your emotions in a diary/journal
Writing songs/poetry
Call a friend
After a day or so, analyze what you have done. Try to determine how you felt, and what you can do to reduce or stop these emotions, or work around them.
Distract yourself. Some people feel that rather than analyzing their emotions, they feel better when they get rid of them or forget them completely. When you feel the urge to self harm, try distracting yourself by trying out the following:
Drink a glass of water
Watch TV
Do some form of exercise-run, walk, ride your bike, or just dance like crazy
Take your dog for a walk, or spend some time with a pet
As soon as you feel the urge to harm yourself, take a deep breath, fold your arms, close your eyes and relax. Tell yourself that you are not going to self harm. Get away from any objects you may use to harm yourself so it’s not as easy to break your resolution. If possible, lie down somewhere. Stay like this until the urge goes, then quickly phone a help line or use another means of getting help.
Screaming at the top of your lungs helps. Try virtually anything you can (as long as it’s legal and healthy) to stop the urge to self harm. Screaming into a pillow or finding a quiet place to let rip really helps.
Speak out loud about what is causing you so much pain. Talk about it – even to yourself, in the privacy of your bedroom: even yelling to yourself to release the tension inside of you – but do not hurt yourself at all. Talking out loud in clear, understandable words will make your situation clearer and more easy to resolve.
Help yourself by imagining how you are able to be like a best friend. As if a friend was just about to harm herself, what would you say to stop your good friend? How would you distract them, how would you support them and get them to stop? Apply these answers to yourself.
Recognize that self harming is just the symptom of a root problem. Think about what makes you want to hurt yourself. Now you are ready to seek and get help. Doctors and trained staff from all kinds of services have been taught especially to help people in your situation. No matter what your issue, age, gender, or background, never feel ashamed to seek help.
Love yourself. If you hate yourself there’s a good chance you want to hurt yourself when you feel bad. No matter what anyone else tells or or what you think they think about you, you should love yourself. When you love someone, you don’t hurt them. Love yourself and don’t hurt yourself.
If you really need to feel something, you should find a different way. Like hold ice cubes in your hands till they melt.
Remember It Will Get Better.
