[SlumberKitty]

How to get better from self harm?

For a while it seemed like I was doing pretty good. I went 18 months without self harm. But lately I have been relapsing a lot.

I have a therapist. I have a group therapy that I go to. I take medications. I see a pdoc. I use crisis lines sometimes. I know some "tricks" like hold ice, draw on your body, etc. But lately nothing seems to work.

Unfortunately I tend to self harm kind of bad. I'm trying to stay out of the hospital but maybe one of these days that will not be able to be avoided.

I'm just like, lost. I don't know how to get better. I want to be better. But I am really unwell right now so I don't think it's possible.

HUGS for anyone who reads this. Kit

[Skeezyks]

I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time with this. In my own way, I sort-of know what this is like. I think there is a sense in which dealing with the urge to self-harm can be like dealing with an addiction... one day at a time.

In my own case, I stopped only when I became so scared of the repercussions of what I was doing that my fear outweighed my urge. And even then, I relapsed a while back. Hopefully I've learned my lesson at this point. But you never know. One day at a time. Please take care...

[MuddyBoots]

Quitting self-harm is the same as quitting any addiction. It's simply figuring out why you do it and finding other things to replace that. For example I used to do it all the time to allow myself to feel something and then I started doing other things for that like cold showers, dunking my head in a bowl of ice water, rubbing ice cubes over my body, exercise, etc. I still slip up from time to time, mostly just when symptoms line up (when impulsivity and self-hatred are severe, especially during mixed states), but I just tell myself "I messed up, I did the best I could, gotta try something else first next time."

Kit you deserve to not do self harms