Hey guys, I have the overwhelming urge to cut. Nothing new buuuut I have decided that I will refuse to give into it this time. That said, I would like to do so by starting some interesting conversations with you all instead. Say anything!
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Cutting yourself is no good. I’ve done a little cutting and burning myself. It didn’t do anything for me. Try to be constructive with yourself. Learn to believe that you are a good person. I’m sure you have a lot going for you. Self hatred is no good. It is a terrible game to play with yourself.
Is cutting on yourself something that people can get “cured” or stop doing? Excuse my ignorance but if there is some way to permanently stop cutting yourself then I would sure look into it.
It’s just a shittty coping skill. Kind of like smoking or getting hammered instead of actually dealing with things. Does more harm than good but feels better in the moment. I currently have scars all down my left arm and I hate them and I have to see family soon so I don’t want any new ones. There isn’t really a cure per se but you can rewire your brain to resort to a more positive coping skill. Like switching from cigarettes to hard candies. It’s been 2 months since I put a blade to my skin, my positive coping skill is distraction. Clearly.
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For me it isn’t about self hatred. I started young because I wanted to die. Then I quit for about 6 years. Now I do it because the blood is mesmerizing. There’s something powerful about it. I study the way it moves, instead of focusing on the things I see that aren’t really there or all of the things that stress me out. I’m aware that it’s a bad distraction technique which is why I’m making the conscious effort to quit. Thinking about getting more tattoos or donating blood to imitate the sensation but with positive outcomes.
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I used to cut from age 13 to age 38. It does become something you can distract yourself into something better for you.
I used to make (red) hand prints of both hands on papers as a "Souvenir."
Still have them.
Even wrote a poem about it, titled “Scars” that I posted on this forum back in 2004.
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It’s easy for me to say…but you have to stop sometime, maybe you can stop now. I couldn’t envision what you will look like 5 years from now if you don’t stop. It’s like alcoholics and addicts putting off going to AA or NA. There’s no time like the present.
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It’s hard to know if it’s better to cut off such behavior completely - cold turkey, or to sublimate it - like donating blood. If you go to the plasma center you can make a little money donating plasma - I think about $135.00 per month. For me, on my financial scale, that’s good money. I got a false positive for hepatitis though, so I can’t donate blood or plasma anywhere. (I was taking Haldol at the time, and Haldol can give you a false positive for hepatitis.) It worries me a little with this business of liking to see your own blood. I’m fearful you might cut too deep, and hit an artery. I don’t know what kind of access you have to counseling. Maybe someone who has experience counseling people with this type of problem could be very good for you.
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Verily, the wandering soul knows no rest
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Hey @Brittany I do not think we have met. I can give you some distracting methods I learned here on the forum: cold ice on the back of your neck; involve 5 senses by eg sucking on a sweet, smelling a candle, seeing some nice picture, hearing nice music, touching sth of an interesting texture. I tried the ice myself this morning, weirdly helped. Although I need to underline that I am not so much of a self harmer. Just banging the head (and not too hard as it hurts heh) or slapping my face. I cannot even imagine how much pain you must feel to cut yourself. I am really sorry… But you are not alone. Remember that. Wishing you all the best 
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I used to do that a lot I stopped for a little while but a few days ago i almost did it again it is kinda fuckked, but usually one thing that stops me most of the time is when i think about what people will probably think when they see the scars I already have and what they will probably think now when there are newer cuts
I wish I never started doing it I started doing it at like 10 or 11 years old and I stopped for some years but when all this mental illness â– â– â– â– came into my life everything changed and i started doing it again
here is some of the stuff I do to try to do to distract myself when i am feeling bad and want to cut, usually what I do I will just flip a pocket knife open and close and cut pieces of paper or lay in bed and try to relax myself or I will leave my room and talk to someone else in my house or listen to music and watch youtube videos and stuff
sometimes I will go outside because I know i would never do it outside because there people are watching and listening to me and my thoughts whenever I am outside it is always such a different feeling being outside than in my room because the voices change even tho they are a lot quieter now it is like when you are outside there are billions of other people outside with you and when you are inside you are by yourself so u feel u can do whatever
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If you like the way blood looks go to your local craft store and pick up some acrylic pain. You can mix that together and make neat swirls. You could also paint on yourself and take a picture of it. That way you’d still get the tactile sensation plus you’d have a nice picture to post in the Creativity section.
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I used to cut myself and I stopped so it can be done but it was a stress reliever for me.
I’m aware of the consequences.
Didn’t realize you could be compensated for donating. I can’t donate for another 3 months due to my cutting (risk of infection) but it’s something I will definitely look into. That’s almost what I make per paycheck so it’d be nice to have.
As for the blood thing, I have a therapist. She’s great. She helps me to find positive skills to replace the cutting with. Which is why I’ve lasted as long as I have without making anymore cuts. Also I NEVER cut deep. Ever. My intent is not to kill myself so I make sure I don’t accidentally knick any veins. I’m the type that makes several shallow cuts instead of one deep one. Deep cuts scare the shitt out of me.
Thank you Lara, I really appreciate it. I’ll be sure to try the senses thing. Usually involving the senses takes me out of panic mode so I think this is a good suggestion for me. It’s only about as painful as a tattoo, luckily doesn’t last as long.
Same, I started at 10 and hid them until I was about 14 or 15. I stopped for years and then with the onset of MI it came back. Sighs. We will overcome.
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I’m a picker, it calms me down better than cutting
I like reading rndom Wikipedia articles like quantum mchanics or historical monarchy s
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I just found today that pressing on my gums does the trick. No harm in that.