Help What am i doing wrong? (Sh alternative)

[Maeve]

I am trying to stop with cutting. I tried the ballpoint pen alternative (where you "stab it in until it hurts enough and then pull like your cutting) that one hurts yes but i dont get the silence in my brain. like when i cut, i get a few seconds of calmness that washes over me and alowed me to think, without my brain screaming at me. But with the other non disstructive methods i dont get calmness just the pain :(
Sry if it does not make sense i am bad with words

 

[timf]

For some people cutting is about the anxiety relief they get from an act that gives them a sense of control. It might be possible to substitute another physical activity as a substitute. If the ballpoint pen experiment proved unsatisfactory, perhaps something like physical exercise (pushups for example) might serve where you can push yourself to a level of difficulty that might work more effectively as a substitute.

 

[Valky]

You have to imagine the urge of wanting to Sh like a line graph. Is the graph low then you usually don't feel good and want to find relieve from that pain, which means, that the intend of self harming is to bring that line back up again. Adrenaline is the main source of getting that graph back up and being able to feel okay/better again.

The thing with Sh is, that it mostly catapults that graph up again, meanwhile other options have a slower effect, which is exactly why it is so hard for many people to stop self harming. The instant need of relieve.

Part of assuring that other methods work too is trying to catch when you feel that graph sinking; to start those so called "skills" before it is too late and the graph has fallen completely.

Now there are obviously different skills aimed at different working mechanisms. So let me tell you some that I know of.

- Working out:
This is usually intended for the very beginning of starting to feel unwell. It releases adrenaline and your heart starts beating faster which can help you to not even fall far into that 'down' that the graph may be going for.

- Cold Showers :
Same concept

- Extreme alternation of the shower temperature:
This will give you even more of a rush since the sudden temperature switches will increase the alertness of your body and therefore (you guessed it) release more adrenaline. This is better when the graph has already reached a lower point.

-Eating Chillies:
Chillies have a substance that make your body believe that it is overheating so it goes on full cooling mode. It's a light Defense respond which therefore also involves adrenaline. Tho, I must add that eating a lot of chillies is really not recommend but it does have an additional pain factor, which many are looking for.

- Use of fake blood:
Many people miss the factor of being able to see their own blood when using skills, so using fake blood to draw lines on your arms really is a good option.

My personal favourite:
Heat cream. It's like rubbing chillies on your skin. It burns but doesn't really damage the skin. (Can be bought otc for muscle pain). I recommend getting those big ass bandages, put the cream on them and then apply it to your skin and leaving it on. This is perfect even when your graph has already fallen.
The only problem with this is, that it takes some time to start working (10 minutes maybe) which is why I would recommend mixing skills. I enjoy drawing lines with the fake blood until the cream starts working for example.

And especially, throw your blades out. I know it is scary but you will always go back to them otherwise, to get that fast relieve.
I hope this is of help to you :)
You got this!

 

[Maeve]

You have to imagine the urge of wanting to Sh like a line graph. Is the graph low then you usually don't feel good and want to find relieve from that pain, which means, that the intend of self harming is to bring that line back up again. Adrenaline is the main source of getting that graph back up and being able to feel okay/better again.

The thing with Sh is, that it mostly catapults that graph up again, meanwhile other options have a slower effect, which is exactly why it is so hard for many people to stop self harming. The instant need of relieve.

Part of assuring that other methods work too is trying to catch when you feel that graph sinking; to start those so called "skills" before it is too late and the graph has fallen completely.

Now there are obviously different skills aimed at different working mechanisms. So let me tell you some that I know of.

- Working out:
This is usually intended for the very beginning of starting to feel unwell. It releases adrenaline and your heart starts beating faster which can help you to not even fall far into that 'down' that the graph may be going for.

- Cold Showers :
Same concept

- Extreme alternation of the shower temperature:
This will give you even more of a rush since the sudden temperature switches will increase the alertness of your body and therefore (you guessed it) release more adrenaline. This is better when the graph has already reached a lower point.

-Eating Chillies:
Chillies have a substance that make your body believe that it is overheating so it goes on full cooling mode. It's a light Defense respond which therefore also involves adrenaline. Tho, I must add that eating a lot of chillies is really not recommend but it does have an additional pain factor, which many are looking for.

- Use of fake blood:
Many people miss the factor of being able to see their own blood when using skills, so using fake blood to draw lines on your arms really is a good option.

My personal favourite:
Heat cream. It's like rubbing chillies on your skin. It burns but doesn't really damage the skin. (Can be bought otc for muscle pain). I recommend getting those big ass bandages, put the cream on them and then apply it to your skin and leaving it on. This is perfect even when your graph has already fallen.
The only problem with this is, that it takes some time to start working (10 minutes maybe) which is why I would recommend mixing skills. I enjoy drawing lines with the fake blood until the cream starts working for example.

And especially, throw your blades out. I know it is scary but you will always go back to them otherwise, to get that fast relieve.
I hope this is of help to you :)
You got this!

Thank you very much bought some cream it actually helps i still find it difficult to catch it becoming worse but its a start :)

 

[Valky]

Thank you very much bought some cream it actually helps i still find it difficult to catch it becoming worse but its a start :)

I am proud of you! You got this <3

 

[HeartThatFeeds]

Idk if this will be useful to you, but recently I seen a thing someone made, I think it's called the sh recovery pen, basically it similates the sensation of sh as alwell as the sting and blood and is completely safe to use (there is even a stain option for people who like seeing the after results of it all)

If you don't want to spend money with that, one of the Doctors I speak to told me to get food coloring and put it in an ice cube and then use that and it simulates the sensation and also the bleeding

 

[Maeve]

Idk if this will be useful to you, but recently I seen a thing someone made, I think it's called the sh recovery pen, basically it similates the sensation of sh as alwell as the sting and blood and is completely safe to use (there is even a stain option for people who like seeing the after results of it all)

If you don't want to spend money with that, one of the Doctors I speak to told me to get food coloring and put it in an ice cube and then use that and it simulates the sensation and also the bleeding

I have heard of that but many say it is not that good i might buy it and try it out myself. At the mo i am just using a normal ballpoint pen to iritate my skin (i find it burns more if skin iritated) and then heatsaucebandage. It helps if i notice my need quick enough i still cut somtimes but a lot less

 

[HeartThatFeeds]

I might try it out for

I have heard of that but many say it is not that good i might buy it and try it out myself. At the mo i am just using a normal ballpoint pen to iritate my skin and then heatsaucebandage. It helps if i notice my need quick enough i still cut somtimes but a lot less

I might have to try it out for myself to see how it goes honestly, I'm hoping that it's actually worth it, unfortunately there are very little methods to stop the urge of self harming, but the one that helps me the most is to just do it but in a a way where I'm only scratching the surface of my skin and not causing any overt damage to my body