IT may sound insulting but try this. It's simple. Easy and requires the least bit of physical effort. DONT DO IT!

For real, being a "recovering" self mutilater I have been through the ups and downs of urges and than the regrets. Like a crack addict we suffer from the same affliction. An addiction I call it. Something to release the pain.

What are you supposed to do instead? Be creative. I know what helps me is writing it out word for word what I am doing and how I am doing it and what I am feeling. So the whole mental process is captured on paper and physically there are no cuts for people to gawk at.

If you are desperate and really really want to quit, you should be willing to try anything. Once you get time under your belt (just like in AA) it does get a little easier.

If all else fails, tell yourself that you will do it in ten minutes. Wait ten minutes. If you still feel the urge after the ten minutes give yourself ten more. THIS IS ACTUAL EFFECTIVE. Results vary however. If ten minutes is too long, start with five.

Remember the reasons why you don't want to cut helps to. For example for me, I know that working in a public place in a management postion dealing with people in a small community in the summer time can not support such coping mechanisms.

It does suck though once the thought gets there. It becomes a compulsion. An obsession. But REMEMBER FIRST AND FOREMOST YOU ARE IN CONTROL.

Do you want to be an actor in the play or the director? Life is your script to write. Whether you write your own script or follow another's is up to you. And there are no rewrites.

(((((SPRINKLING LOVE YOUR WAY FROM PURGATORY)))))) Smile! Think differently to get different results. That's where it begins. Or am I wrong?

I