How do I distract myself to keep from cutting myself?

Question

Im overcoming self harm. I dont have any support so I need a good distraction.

Thanks.

Answer 1

well just think of it like this,

cutting yourself is bad.
cutting yourself just puts you down,,
you kno your better than that. and
you dont want scars. (they are extreamly ugly)

you can distract yourself many ways, watch tv. work out.
hey if anything eat! lol

hope it helps

Answer 2

when my daughter was cutting (her biplar hadn't yet been diagnosed), she was told by a friend to keep a rubber band or hairband around her wrist at all times, and when she "needed" the distraction of pain, to snap the band against her wrist, as hard as she "needed". She says it did help; not as much as cutting did, tho, because she "wanted" to see the blood. In my daughter's case, she needed the meds for bipolar. ..I've heard of people clenching an ice cube in their hand; I'm told the cold can cause pain. I'm glad you are trying to stop. Do take good care of yourself. Do something nice for yourself for 5 minutes out of every hour, if at all possible -- like, walk outdoors & watch the clouds pass by; or pet a dog -- whatever helps you but is not destructive. My therapist told me to also be nice to myself for an hour every day. there's help available; try the About.com "depression" forum, their chat room is a good place to vent & have some accountability or encouragement. & don't lose patience with yourself: it took a while to get this bad off, so give yourself time to get better. :-)

Answer 3

I was never a cutter but I dated a girl for a while who was. To distract herself she would bite her nails and or pen caps or the metal ends to pencils.

That was before she got to the root of the problem itself. Most people cut as a form of disrtaction itself. In her case she had problems at home and when she was very distressed she cut. It was almost a year before I even knew she was a cutter. Mostly because when I was with her, she was happy and didn't cut.

So distracting yourself is only temporary. What drives you to cut in the first place? Once you know (and you probably already do) than find an alternative to cope.

Talk to someone... You can talk to me.... try it...

Answer 4

www.vinland.org/scamp/institute/dsh.html

One of the ways many cutters have helped themselves recover and stop injuring themselves has been through artistic self-expression. Even the physical act of creating art can be cathartic and release some of the tension, as in drawing X's by the hundreds as a replacement for cutting, or playing music that by its very energy and volume (such as punk, speed metal, thrash, etc.) allows feelings to surface and explode from the body that otherwise might've come out in blood. Writing has also been a good way to express and explore ones feelings in a world with very few outlets for expression of emotions which most people have little understanding or patience for.

Some cutters have found that it helps just to get out of the house/apartment, seek a change the scenery, go find someone to talk to, get involved in some kind of activity. Movement and dance can also help a person get back into her body, ground herself, release tension through more harmless physical activities. Strenuous exercise routines have helped others, since this helps your body release the same pain-killing endorphins released during physical pain. This endorphin rush may be one of the results sought by cutters, as it is by runners and by people who enjoy being tattooed or pierced.

I hope this information will help you and we hope you get feeling better :O)

Answer 5

Wow, this is tough. I'm glad to hear though that you are overcoming this. I would love to be of some help to you. If you need someont to talk about it. I know its odd for a random stranger to say they would like to help you, but I'm studying nursing--and I've been told I give good advice, so you should contact me if you wish. [e-mail] is my email. Feel free to email me anytime. And if not, I wish you the best of luck and you can pull through this.

Answer 6

Here's a really long list of distractions: http://www.recoveryourlife.com/Forum/default.aspx?f=5&m=84887

Also, the forum that that list is on is a great place to find support for stopping cutting. You might want to look around a bit.

Answer 7

There's a movie about this, it's called "Secretary" (2002 starring Maggie Gyllenhaal). It might not be your cup of tea but I thought it was a great movie. Give it a try, you might like it. Here's the imdb link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274812/

Answer 8

You need a new let out to channel your frustrations and emotions. How about running until you're too tired to feel anything.

Answer 9

join a group maybe at church or something

Answer 10

I think:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AmHS40P.xykSQIFkdTKUV7UezKIX?link=answer&.crumb=wnYyGQsuPfI&qid=20070107232008AAF77Aq&.done=http%253A%252F%252Fanswers.yahoo.com%252Fquestion%252Findex%253Fqid%253D20070107232008AAF77Aq

will satisfy

:)