| SELF INJURY 2 |
| Below are the answers to some questions you may have about your SI - |
| Am I weird/a freak? |
| - No. You are not weird, you are not a freak and you are not alone. Self Injury is something which affects a large number of people, though it may not be well publicised in the media. |
| Why do I do it? |
| - This is not something that anyone can answer for you. It may be a problem which stems from your childhood. It may be that when you were growing up you never actually learnt a positive way of coping with problems. To find the answer to this question will take time and you need to be patient with yourself. |
| Will I ever be normal? |
| - I dont believe that normal exists. Look at society and very few things are normal, very few people are normal. But it is possible to stop harming yourself. It is possible to find ways to cope with life that do not have such a negative effect on you and will not leave you with visable bruises and scars. |
| What if someone finds out? |
| There is no reason for anyone to find out about your self injury unless they see a scar or unless you tell them. If you do not wish for them to know you could cover your scars with long sleeves, make up, bracelets, you can also help your scars by using scar fading products. You can create a number of excuses with regards to your scars also - the cat scratched me - the neighbours cat scratched me, I was in a car accident when I was younger, I was a bit drunk and scratched my arm against a wall. They may not necessarily be very academic answers, but usually people NEVER think for one second that you are a self injurer, unless they have done this in the past themselves or have a good awareness about self injury. |
| Is there anything I could try to do myself instead of injurying? |
| YES! |
| Talk about it - |
| In a support group. With a Family member or Friend that you trust. With your Doctor. With a Counsellor. Make sure it is someone who you can trust. Even talk about it on a message board forum. That is where I started to talk. It is not easy opening up and talking about our emotions. And it is possible that you fear people will react negatively towards your self injury. But it is an option that may be right for you. |
| I am not a professional advisor on how to seek help with regards to your self injury but through personal experience and gained knowledge I hope to benefit those who wish to control or end their self injury. I apologise for any unintentionally triggering material. |
| Write your thoughts down - |
| Become aware of your triggers - |
| Go to a 'safer' place - |
| Distracting yourself from your urges its not easy but it can be done. If you click on the words distract yourself you will be taken to a page in which a number of activites are listed in which you could partake in. Distracting yourself could become your most powerful tool in stopping yourself from injurying, so check it out! |
| Go to a 'safe' room in the house were you do not usually injure or get an opportunity to injure in. This may also be a room in which there are other people. Self injury is usually a private act and the majority of us carry it own alone. So if you make yourself sit in the company of another, you will not injure. It may not be possible for you to stay with someone forever, but by making the effort to delay injury for as long as possible is beneficial. |
| You may possibly find benefit in writing your thoughts and feelings down if you are urging and desire to injure. This could be in the form of single words, poetry, short sentences, ranging from describing what you wish to do, what you do not wish to do, how you feel before you injure, how you believe you will feel after you injure etc. By getting rid of these stressing words in your head, it may possibly bring some form of relief and release. |
| By becoming more aware of what makes you feel like cutting you can try your best to avoid these triggers. Sometimes its not easy - not all triggers are just upsetting films or television or images. Some triggers are flashbacks from being raped, triggers could be dependent on your mood etc. Possibly learning to relax or de-stress when you come into contact with these triggers would be a good thing to focus on. |
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