What do you do to cope with life, besides cutting?

[fungus]

I self harmed for a few months by cutting myself. But since my therapist pressured me to stop, it just doesn't feel helpful/relaxing anymore. Not in a good way. I haven't found any better coping mechanisms.

And I really don't know what else to do. I tried therapy, but it didn't help at all and I need to find a new way of dealing with life

I'd probably just drink alcohol or take drugs if I could, but I live with my parents, and they're home 24/7, so that's not an option. Talking to others only makes my life worse… so no thanks. And suicide is too much. I probably couldn't do that yet.

I just want to feel less miserable.
And believe me I really tried to enjoy my life and make it better in a healthy way.
And at this point I don't care about long term consequences.

 

[maylurker]

im coping by deluding myself that it'll evventually get better

 

[emptyshells]

I used to go on long walks. I'd push myself to the brink of collapse. I just needed to move. (PTSD makes your body restless.) I also lifted and threw things, like hay bales, sacks of dirt, concrete blocks... I also used to cycle. Biking was so good for me, it felt like flying. Wind in your face, moving faster and faster... The endorphins are good, I guess, but for me I just needed to do something. I would walk to a park and sit on a swing set listening to music almost every single night. That helped me a lot. I miss doing that.

If you're looking for a cutting alternative, using pens to draw on your body can help. It's sharp, and you can use a red pen for that "fix". But it's also "normal" to doodle on yourself, so it's relatively inconspicuous.

 

[Pipsqueak!]

I've been clean from self harm for 2 weeks now and what I do to shake urges is to get active. Go on a walk, if it's cold where you are pace inside your home or exercise. Socializing also helped me. I'd call my friends up and chat and usually it helps after a few hours. Or you could try to find a way to avoid triggers, maybe write down everything that you know triggers you and avoid it. I find it's usually the only ways I can't force my mind away from it, as my other hobbies I do like art or writing self harming is always at the back of my mind. It really just depends on the person though. Alternatively you could do things that substitute for SH and aren't harmful. Ice cubes or rubber bands maybe, but I haven't tried that so don't take my word for it.

 

[Gabbi_Station]

I self harmed for a few months by cutting myself. But since my therapist pressured me to stop, it just doesn't feel helpful/relaxing anymore. Not in a good way. I haven't found any better coping mechanisms.

And I really don't know what else to do. I tried therapy, but it didn't help at all and I need to find a new way of dealing with life

I'd probably just drink alcohol or take drugs if I could, but I live with my parents, and they're home 24/7, so that's not an option. Talking to others only makes my life worse… so no thanks. And suicide is too much. I probably couldn't do that yet.

I just want to feel less miserable.
And believe me I really tried to enjoy my life and make it better in a healthy way.
And at this point I don't care about long term consequences.

Honestly I have on and off been debating about relapsing SH.

I tried weed, but that just made me paranoid and stopped smoking it in 2020.

I have at times bordered on alcoholism. My eating disorder basically just took the place of SH, along with walking and journalling.

I do still miss SH though. After years of abuse and neglect and being told I was worthless, it was the only thing that just numbed everything. It just made life hurt less

 

[BillyBob]

Stopping Self harming many years ago as I was doing such deep and long cuts they were taking months to heal up.
They were so bad that when I sat down they would rip back open, bleed through the bandages and then through my pants so I had to hide the blood stains for the rest of the day on my pant legs. (I should have gotten stitches for some of them but I didn't because I wanted to stay clear of the doctors and that.)
That is when I just turned to either walking while listening to music and then watching random youtube documentaries or play video games.

 

[Defenestration]

Virtua fighter ,music,vidéo game,
Films,read
Films,read