Cutting myself has become an addiction for me. How do I stop?

Cutting myself has become an addiction for me. How do I stop?

If you are struggling with any form of self harm, it can be a difficult addiction to beat. Self-harm is often a way that some of us try to cope with pain or problems. It may be that you’re struggling internally with depression or that you have a stressful home situation, causing you to find ways to ease the pain.

Self harm is often used to express feelings you don’t know how to put into words. Unfortunately, this is a temporary solution to deeper problems and continuing to use it can lead to more dangerous things. Self-harm won’t fix the deeper pain you feel, so it’s important to seek help. Here are ways to deal with this issue.

FIRST: Talk to someone about it. You might feel ashamed or be afraid that no one would understand, but I promise if you talk to one of the leaders that we will listen and love you. But hiding who you are and what you’re going through is a really heavy burden and isn’t a healthy thing to do, so please talk to one of us about this. If you would like to get more professional help, you can call this number:

S.A.F.E. Alternatives information line: (800) 366-8288

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please reach out to someone immediately for help or call this number:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255

SECOND: It’s important to figure out what is making you want to do this. If you understand that maybe you have a deeper pain you don’t know how to deal with, figuring out how to deal with it will help you not use self-harm.

THIRD: Find new ways to express pain and emotions. I will list some ideas below, but ultimately it’s best to work through this  with someone you trust. Again, the most important thing is to talk to someone about it.

Other ways to express pain or intense emotions instead of self harm:

• paint or draw on paper or on your arm
• write down what you are feeling in a journal
• write music or poetry to express how you feel
• exercise vigorously

Other ways to calm down instead of using self harm:

• take a bath or hot shower
• spend time with a pet or animals
• have someone give you a back rub
• listen to calm music
• meditate and pray, read scripture
• make some tea, work on a puzzle, go outside, play music, watch TV, read

Other thoughts and ideas:

• Rub ice across your skin where you might usually cut
• Put rubber bands on your arms or legs and snap them instead of cutting or hitting
• Go somewhere public where you cannot cut yourself