[muse]

I cut before, but it wasn't for any real "reason" until recently.

Now I don't cut, though (it's amazing what guilt can do, haha), I'll just bruise myself or make small scratches. I know, however, that this is only a small step away from what I was doing before... and I'm getting kind of tired of waiting for the bruises where I stabbed myself with a pencil to fade.

I know why I do it, though--sometimes I get so incredibly tense and angry at myself or my situation that I feel as though the only way to get rid of it is to physically lash out. My stress and anxiety manifests itself in a physical feeling of horrible tenseness, and since becoming a black hole (what I wish I could do--all that gravity to stretch you out) or smashing my chair against the desk aren't options, I hurt myself instead.

Has anybody found a way to relieve that tension without hurting themselves? Thanks much.

[Direction]

Not sure...usually end of trading one "bad" habit for another.

I keep telling myself back to the basics:

Eat Right
Exercise
Get enough sleep
Call someone to go out
Call people on my list when its getting bad

Just wish I could follow the basics!

[muse]

Thing is, my urges to self-harm last a very short while and are extremely intense. Think of it this way; take that "longing" that you feel to self-harm over a long period, then condense all of those feelings into the space of about three to five minutes. Add liberal amounts of pain and frustration. I really appreciate the advice, though (I have SOOO much trouble with the basics as well! XD).