bethyb / Aug 26 2009 16.26

elastic band on your wrist, it doesnt leave any permenant damage and gives you the relief you want.

going out for a run or walk, fresh air does us the world of good.

painting,writting,drawing

writ everything down and rip it up or burn it (do something to get rid of your problems) , its great to tear up your problems.

hope some of these help i know its hard to stop and i've not yet been succesful but i'm sure with some of these distractions on this post we will be able to be well on the way to stopping.

good luck everyone :) xxxxxx

Jen301 / Aug 29 2009 21.24

Hey yeah this thread was good on the old site so yeah here are some alternatives my councellor sent me :)

1) Watch a film or read a book
2) Go somewhere public or with other people
3) Bake
4) Buy a home henna tattoo kit (peels off next day similar to skin picking)
5) Painting or drawing or poetry writing
6) rip paper into itty bitty pieces
7) Hugs :) 
8) Write letters or emails [you dont have to send these]
9) Talk to yourself and reassure yourself
10) hyperfocus on something and write down everything
11) scream very loud!!
12) Dance like crazyyyy
13) Pop bubble wrap
14) Play with modelling clay or play dough
15) count to 100 in another language :P
16) pop balloons
17) hug yourself!
18) create something
19) search silly things on the internet
20) instead of sefl harming to punihs yourself, punish yourself by NOT self harming :)
21) buy some toys and play
22) play video/computer games
23) play on swings/playgroud
24) talk to a friend on the phone/visit a friend
25) Write yourself an "I love you because..." letter
26) Re-arrange your room
27) Draw faces on pieces of fruit
28) Call a helpline or come on here :)
29) Talk to somebody close to you 
30) punch your pillow
31) chocolate!!
32) Do very glamourous makeup on yourself
33) massage the area of your body you want to hurt
34) colour with crayons
35) come up with baby names (even if your not pregnant)
36) update your I-pod or MP3 player
37) put on PJ's, get into bed and watch TV with a mug of hot chocolate ... mmmm
38) buy cheap teddy bears and take anger out on them instead of yourself
39) try to make as many words out of your name as possible [i played this game and its cool lol ]
40) write on arms/wrists/tummy with felt tips
41) Keep a diary
42) Try to reduce your cutting by promising to leave some days injury free and keeping to that, slowly making the times and days you cut shorter and shorter
43) Make a scrapbook
44) Bandage your arms so you can't cut them - you are taking care of yourself that way
45) write down your thoughts and change them into positive ones for example ... "I cut 3 times last week, i am a failure" can be changed to ... "I managed 4 days self harm free last week, that is something I can be proud of. I can always improve on this next week" :)
46) pluck your eyebrows or wax your legs! youch lol
47) Do some homework
48) learn another language
49) Make scoobies
50) Do puzzles such as sudoku
51) Make a paper chain, with a link for every day self harm free.. see how long you can make the chain!!
52) Do some exercize or go for a walk
53) paint your nails
54) Sing along to your fave songs :) 
55) put PVA glue on your hands and peel it off !
56) Clap your hands until it stings
57) on a sketch or photo of yourself mark what you want to do,, tear and rip this up after
58) draw what is making you feel this way

I hope these alternatives help somebody cos it took me AGES to write these out lol :P xxxxxx

iwishicouldsmile101 / Sep 04 2009 19.16

wow! thats a long list, loving it! especialy 20, 28, and 51! they either made me chuckle, and made me realise that we can do this, gonna start a chain tonight!

thankyou for the help guys =) actualy feeling positive for once, because of reading them, and realising that some way out there must work!

good luck everyone

love and hugs
iwishicouldsmile x

Jen301 / Sep 04 2009 21.47

i think this distractions thread should be a green thread at the top because it would help anyone who comes on here! and the person who wrote it [iwishicouldsmile101] had a very good idea putting it here because it was helpful on the old site!!

HezzJoanne / Sep 26 2009 22.31

I find that cutting stuff up helps, for example socks with holes in or empty plastic bottles .

abstractx / Oct 13 2009 18.48

Jen301, did you post that list on the last board? I think I printed it out :)

I find opening up a Word document and typing very fast or 'screaming' into it about anything and everything that is wrong. I have this other site that I go on and go into chat to talk to random people; cheers me up :)

Can't do the whole 'red pen' thing because it triggers me. But listening to music via headphones really, really loudly stops you thinking. Calling a friend and chatting about nothing and making yourself laugh.

I like to paint my nails, something to do and you get something nicce out of it, and it takes time. And I am currently writing a novel and other short stories and poems so I will do that. Or dancing until you are so exhausted you can barely move. Or call a helpline. Or make a list of distractions... peeing an orange peel making sure you get all the zest off. The most random things work :)

As long as you have the determination. Once you get through one, you can get through anything. Take care xx

Jenny94 / Oct 22 2009 16.01

Thank you Jen301 that list is WAY better than the one my councillor gave me. You have some dedicated typing skills here. I would just have given up :P

i was told to think of an object and find 30 different uses for it :S dunno if that will work though...

(try thinking of 30 uses for an orange-not easy :))

elastic bands are v. helpful!!! :D

MapleTree / Oct 23 2009 22.16

I always find something fiddly to do with my hands like making a bead bracelet or making a collage out of some magazines.

Whenever I feel down or want to self harm, I put on Lee Evans or Michael Mcintyre and just lie on my bed. They always make me feel better :)

And you could listen to some bouncy happy music like Mika :)

iwishicouldsmile101 / Nov 03 2009 20.45

found another one,

drywipe marker all over your nails, (making it perfectly even, which is fun)  then rub it off only using your pinky, you have to get it all perfectly off... depending on your pen this gets frustrating if you are not carefull, but its easy to get off with your cuff if it gets to this stage =) alturnatly wipe off the thinest lines you can, like cuts, and see the most little lines you can get on one finger, quite iritiating if it all flakes off towards the bottom!

might not work, but i was doing it today, and it had me occupied for more than half an hour...

love and hugs
iwishicouldsmile x

SugarKiss / Nov 29 2009 21.28

Ive found

1) drawing on myself helps

2) drawing something really pretty where i want to cut so i can't cut it without hurting it.

3) going for a walk

4)screaming

5)ripping up paper

6)writing stuff down and then destroying it.

 

 

these all help me.Happy Helping.xx