Cutting Prevention
The Butterfly Project
Here’s how it works:You take a permanent marker and you draw a butterfly on your skin. Then you give your butterfly a name, preferably the name of someone who cares about you and wants to see you get better.
Now, if you can make it without self-injuring until your butterfly disappears naturally, your butterfly lives.
Another spin on this is not to stop SI entirely, but keep yourself from cutting super deep. The butterfly represents health to your fatty tissue. It’s a way to help wean off serious SI.
Snap a rubber band around your wrist.
Find a thick rubber band and put it around your wrist. When you feel the need to cut snap the rubber band until the urge subsides.
Draw on yourself with sharpie/draw pretend wounds where you want to cut.
It’s a physiological thing. Your mind sees red where you want to cut, and sometimes the urge goes away. Or, instead of cutting you can buy brand new sharpies with semi sharp edges and draw on the undersides of your arms. It can also be fun and artistic. :)
When you want to cut, go outside and distract yourself, or pick up a hobby.
If possible, go on a walk. It’s a good idea to get some fresh air where these thought’s don’t seem to trap you. Exercise is a natural way of releasing endorphins, a similar reaction to harming oneself.
Good hobbies to pick up are painting, or writing in a journal. You don’t have to be good at it; nobody will be critiquing your work. It’s a healthy way to express emotion, which is highly beneficial. Sit and draw, or read a book. Whatever you’re comfortable with works!
A very simple one, blast music.
One of my various mottos: Headphones in, world out. Just get some music, somewhat cheerful preferably, and tune out the world. Embrace music, and embrace yourself. Feel free to dance like a hooligan as well. :D
For every cut you have, you have to wait one day to cut again.
Let’s say you’ve cut 5 times. 5 cuts. Wait 5 days to cut again. See if you can do it. It’s an alternative to driving yourself crazy by trying to stop cold turkey. Because, you’re not stopping completely. This is also a pact you can make with someone who desires you to stop SI. Or for burns/bruises etc, you can wait until it heals to ‘X’ point before doing it again.
Practice Mindfulness (Meditate):
Put on some light music or find a quiet place and try to clear your mind. Take deep breaths and try to control your heart beat. Try to observe everything that is going on around you in the moment. (You don’t even have to sit in the stupid pretzel position!) If you’re going to cry, then let the tears flow. This is your personal time to relax and do whatever you want. A piece of advice, it is better to focus on something that’s NOT stress or trigger related.
- Laura’s Calming Playlist
- Patricia’s “Happy songs” Playlist
- Pattern Page. A print out color page website. You could even use it on the computer. Brings you back to your childhood~!
- Take a hot or cold shower. Not luke warm and take your time!
- http://astretchyhand.com
- A super long list of alternatives
- Punch something! Go crazy~! Preferably punch your pillow or bed, or couch. Not a wall or tree.
- Scream at the top of your lungs. Don’t feel stupid, just let it out!
- Sew your very own Vampire Bunny Plushie C:
- Play an instrument if you have one.
- Make yourself a friendship NECKLACE. It’s like a friendship bracelet, just a hell of a lot bigger!
- Run an ice cube down wherever you SI. Do it until it melts away completely. It’s a sub for those urges and feelings.
- Hemp and ribbon crochet bracelet!
- Tape cardboard or paper to your wall, turn up the music and listen. Write your thoughts/song lyrics on these sheets of paper/cardboard until you feel better.
- Widdling, you don’t have to make anything in particular just make shit. Sounds fun right?
- Get a ballpoint pen, the finest one you can find, and when you want to cut use the pen to make lines. It’s unlikely to cut you (unless you keep going over it..dont recommend that) but thin pens are sharp and scratchy and cause the closest thing to the sting from cutting I have found. It will also leave red marks there for a day or two which could be good or bad, depending on where you do it
- Write emotional song lyrics
- Origami. Cranes, hearts fish, cootie-catchers, roses, weave a basket out of old maps. You have something to show for it, and it keeps your hands busy. (Also, it makes your friends go OOH and AAH.)(Origami link two)
- Pluck your brows. It hurts.
- Print out and cut lyrics of songs and tape them to your wall. Color them.
- Write what you’re feeling in a book, then use whatever you normally SI with to destroy the page. (If you burn, make sure you have something to smother potential fire with nearby!)
- Make friendship bracelets! If someone else makes it for you it could be a way to help you not want to SI. And it keeps your hands busy, is easy and fun to do C:
- Wrap bandages around your area of SI(draw bloody patches on it if you must). It will deter you from SI in that area.
- Write in a journal. Here’s some writing prompts to start you off
- Shred an old shirt and weave it into a really simple, stylish scarf.
- MAKE HOME-MADE PLAY-DOUGH.
- Make yourself a cozy pair of slippers
- Make yourself a tiny little teddy bear with pipe cleaners/clay C:
- Pull the hair on your legs and cut it with your tool. The pulling sensation causes pain and could curb your urges
- Some childhood movies.
- Some MORE childhood movies.
- Paint your nails!
- boardgame-online.com
- pick your favorite book, and put your razor at a certain page. If you can read to the page where your razor is at without smiling, you get to cut. If you smile, you have to put away your razor for the rest of the day.
- Take a notebook and hand write all the nice things people have said to you. Either from tumblr, real life or what have you. When you’re triggered you must read the book front to back before you’re allowed to do anything to yourself.
- Make a playlist of songs exactly how you’re feeling at the moment. Triggering, soothing, it’s all up to you. Optional; You must listen to it all the way through before getting up and harming yourself.
Credit to Lets-Bandage-It-Up
