sarahmuaaz
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Cutting" is a serious and dangerous condition that should be taken seriously, and not ignored. The following tips might help you stop the cycle, but if you feel you need professional help, then do not be ashamed to seek it! In addition to steps you can take towards self-healing, you'll also find a list of helpful sites.
Steps 1
Keep a hotline number with you at all times. When you feel the urge to cut, pick up the phone and call the hotline. Crisis Hotline staff are trained to provide support and offer you alternatives to cutting yourself. However, you should remember that a professional crisis clinician will be clear that it is NOT his or her job to "talk you out of" cutting yourself - you make your own choices, and you must take responsibility for cutting or not cutting. Do not be ashamed to ask for support when you need it, as this affliction affects people from all walks of life.
Remove cutting tools from your immediate area. If you have to take the time to look for something with which to cut yourself, you may find you have just given yourself enough time to deal with the impulse.
step2.
Scars remain foreverIdentify the 'trigger' that gives you the urge to cut. The moment you have the urge to cut, stop and think of what has just occurred. Remember it and try to avoid these situations! When they do occur, try to create another outlet. Walk away, eat ice cream, take a shower or bubble bath, go out for a jog, go for a swim, call a friend for coffee at the local coffeehouse but do not cut.
As soon as you feel the urge to cut yourself, take a deep breath, fold your arms, close your eyes and relax. Tell yourself that you are not going to cut. If possible, lie down somewhere. Stay like this until the urge goes, then quickly phone a helpline or use another means of getting help.
Find another way to vent. Cutting is a way to release some type of pain or frustration. Try painting, writing about your feelings, singing, dancing, playing an instrument, or playing a sport. Try anything you can (as long as it's legal and healthy) to stop the urge to cut.
Release the pain without cutting by using your voice. Talk to someone--a doctor, teacher, friends, your parents if you can. You will be surprised how relieved you will feel after you talk about it. If you chose a doctor or a counselor, they can get you the help you need to heal the underlying cause. Speak out loud about what is causing you so much pain. Talk about it - even to yourself, in the privacy of your bedroom. Yell or scream - anything to release the tension inside of you - but do not cut.
Help yourself by imagining that you are your best friend. If she was just about to cut herself, what would you say to stop it?
Try snapping elastic bands on your wrists. Rubber bands can be used to give that sharp shot of pain you get from cutting, without being dangerous to your health. (Note: wider rubber bands can leave marks which eventually fade away but not for a day or so.) You can also try holding an ice cube against your wrist, and/or drawing on your skin with red marker. The ice will hurt, but it will not cause any real damage. Note that while this helps some cutters, for other cutters it triggers thoughts which encourage cutting. In addition, it does not eliminate the drive for self-harming behavior and therefore some people recommend against using this technique at all. It is listed here only as a temporary alternative to more damaging activities.
Recognize that cutting is just the symptom of a root problem. Follow the above steps to stop yourself from cutting, but also seek help from a doctor, parent, or counsellor to address the deeper problems that make you want to cut in the first place.
Tips
Ask your guidance counselor if your school has a weekly group session. If they do, join it, it will help you make it through your situations and tough times. If your school doesn't have a group, then start one by talking to your school counselor about starting a group to be held after school. If you are not in school, you can start a group yourself or find an existing group locally usually through local crisis centers and clinics. You can place printed ads in your school and in public places. This in itself can be therapeutic.
If going to a group session in "real life" seems like too much for you, you can join forums or cutters groups online to help you.
If you cannot stop yourself from hurting yourself, make sure you use clean blades to prevent infection, and take good care of the wounds by cleaning them.
If you have no one to talk to, get a tape recorder and talk into it. The pain will be released, and you might not need to cut to feel relief. You can also release your feelings by writing poetry or raps, painting, or other art forms.
Cutting is as much an addiction as smoking or alcohol. Stop it one day at a time, or one moment at a time. Give yourself time and determination to stop.
Your cutting may stem from a natural inclination to deal with stress in a physical way. Turn this into a good thing by exercising or cleaning the house when stressed. Not only will you feel better about yourself, you will feel great about the weight you lost, muscle you gained, room you just cleaned, or the bathtub you just scrubbed.
If you cut yourself out of a need to take control of your appearance, try drawing on yourself with washable markers. Draw the war paint you need to do battle against your sadness.
You may want to look up a twelve step program like Self Mutilators Anonymous, or a support group and see when and where they meet in your area.
If someone you know is cutting themselves, it is important that you reach out to them and help them find out what led them down the road to cutting in the first place.
Talking to another person is the best way to get help, but if you do not feel comfortable with that try journaling about your feelings.
Think about how it will affect your relationships with others.
Think about whether or not this is where you want to be 10 years from now.
If you have stopped cutting, and would like to hide the scars, buy theatrical makeup, in a color close to your skin, and use it when you wear short sleeves. I know for a fact that this works.
When you have stopped, and find that the school teachers or students make fun of you, I would suggest that you speak to a Counsellor, and ask her to assist you in starting a Cutters group at school. I am sure that there are many more, who are trying to hide the fact.
One of the best ways to vent anger is to take up a martial art. Karate, Jeet Kun Do, Judo, Ju-Jitsu... Any form of physical martial art will do.
Warnings
Self-mutilation can lead to infections and permanent scars.
Cutting is dangerous. It is NOT out of the realm of possibility that you may accidentally hit an artery and possibly bleed to death.
The visual effects of the cuts could inflict pain on the people you love such as friends and family.
Cutting is often addictive.
People love you, both friends and family. You need to go to at least one of them and tell them what you are going through. It will be the first step you will take on the road to feeling better.
p.s i hope i have answer your question and if you need some one to talk to you can e-mail me. sorry for the long notes i really hope it help you stop cutting... |