Sort of. I'm 19 now, I stopped cutting for awhile when I was around 16 and without realizing it was also self-injury, I switched to overdosing on pills...mostly things that would make me hallucinate or distract me from reality in some way. I eventually started cutting again while doing that, and eventually just went back to cutting. Now when I have access to alcohol on anything resembling a regular basis, it starts becoming a replacement for cutting.
I agree with the idea many have that self-injury is a type of addiction, and like with other addictions if you just stop abruptly you will switch to something else. For example, I have heard (I don't have proof, so don't hurt me if I'm wrong lol) that drug addicts often start smoking after they quit drugs. I know many smokers who started compulsively eating after they stopped smoking.
Work on the reasons behind your self-injury and the feelings that come up right before the urges come up...that's what helped me stop for nearly a year recently.
|