[chasinglove18]

How do you control the urges to cut?

[crazylife]

Distraction - Go see a friend (just be with other people even if you don't want to be), call someone to chat, go for a walk just take yourself out of temptations way and keep trying not to cut, use techniques that help to not cut like red felt tip pen or ice. Just don't give in think how proud you'll be of yourself for resisting.

As crazylife answered, distraction is what works for me. As long as it's positive and works for YOU - that's what matters. For me, a few things that work are: exercise, taking the dog for a walk, listening to music (positive music though, negative music usually makes it worse), reading, writing, and taking a hot bath. There's a lot more, but I won't bore you with a novel-sized reply!

Maybe you could write down a list of distracting activities you think might work for you? And then when the urges come, referring to the list and picking a couple of things to do until the urge passes.

I also believe that, although distraction is an essential tool, therapy is usually required so the individual can find out WHY they want to self-harm in the first place. I have found therapy to be essential in learning to overcome self-injury.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=10310
There's some good advice here, mainly distractions, and others advice on what helps them, maybe some will help you out when resisting the urges. Hugs, jess x

[Howlin Mad]

But what if the urges are there for a very long time?

Originally Posted by Howlin Mad

But what if the urges are there for a very long time?

Then the distraction needs to happen until the urges do go away.

I think for myself, and others who struggle with SI, we overestimate how long the urges will last. I used feel the urge and act on it right away, thinking "I had to cut, the urge would never have gone away!" As I became willing to overcome this behaviour through therapy and distraction, I quickly realized that the urges go away sooner than I think.

ALSO...I have found that my SI urges are at their worst when I focus on the negatives in my life. This is where distraction helps, because if I'm too busy exercising, then my mind won't be thinking negatively. It'll be thinking about getting through the physical activity!

As I mentioned above, therapy has helped me overall by helping me identify what causes me to want to SI, what my triggers are, coping skills that work for me, etc.

Two things I know are: the urge usually goes away sooner than I think, and distraction is VERY helpful. It doesn't last forever, hang in there!