A BIG HUGE part of staying safe for me, in the very beginning, was that I (intuitively- I didn't know any other siers back then) did not allow myself to buy instruments that were for the sole purpose of cutting. I knew if I did that, then I would be "officially" committing myself to this. I don't know if that makes any sense. I only used the razors I had bought for shaving my legs (you know, the ones that come in multi-packs?)

Later on, I bought razor blades that were designated for cutting only. I realized this was too big of a temptation, so when I was feeling healthier, I actually asked my roommate to throw them away. (I couldn't bring myself to do it, but I did want to get better at the same time. I was very torn).

For me, it makes the temptation a LOT worse if I have a designated instrument. Sometimes I will still si if I don't have one, because sometimes I just get creative But generally, it's a LOT less likely to happen if I don't have anything in particular "assigned" just for that.

Angela