8 replies to this topic

[xXTiffaXx]

I need some help with cutting and other things. I've been cutting for about two and a half years and the longest I've ever gone without cutting is a month. I have sleeping problems and sometimes I'll take pills that make me really tired... My friends are worried about me and I don't want them to worry. Please help me... I need to stop 'cause lately I wanna cut deeper and more often.

[xXTiffaXx]

I've started taking pictures of my cuts, so when I look at the pictures on my phone I'm reminded of how bad it is and how much I need to stop, and it helps a little, but sometimes it makes me miss cutting and I do it again. :/

[Erasmas]

Aye, I've been cutting a lot recently too. However, until I restarted, I had quit for nearly a year, so I know it can be done if you set your mind too it. But how... Hm... I don't know what you're using to cut, but if you only have a few sharp objects to do it with you can dispose of them so that they are unavailable in a moment of weakness. Similar ideas exist along that lines: take away the means. But that just makes it impossible to cut, which doesn't solve the problem of wanting to cut -- which is, in my opinion, more dangerous than the cutting itself.

Routines are good. If you have a strong will, but just not strong enough to quit, you can create some sort of routine. A trade-off. Every time you cut, punish yourself. Nothing drastic. Just take away something you like for a while. You can make it mathematical and set in stone so that the punishment increases each time. For example, don't do something you like for a day the first time, two days the second time, etc. This is only a self-check system and relies on you to carry it out, but to be honest, the real goal isn't to dangle the punishment in front of you (I don't really believe in that), but to give you even more to think about when you cut. If you decide you believe in this system and want to use it, and then you cut, you won't want to accept the punishment: so you'll feel bad about breaking the system and will be less likely to cut. But if you do accept the punishment, then the punishment itself will make you less likely to cut.

It's a psychological game no matter what. Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching, "If you understand others you are smart. If you understand yourself you are illuminated." The fact that you posted here says a lot about this. You know you want to stop cutting, and you went to the extent of saving those pictures because you know that sometimes you DO want to cut. You understand how your mood can change and how you might even act different sometimes. You understand your own habits. So treat that like a different person for a minute... Pretend that you is a different person. Now think, what can you do to outsmart that person so they can't cut anymore? It's a psychological game, so you just need to defeat that part of your mind -- the part that has the urge or desire to cut. Just outsmart yourself. You can do it.

[xXTiffaXx]

Thank you so much, I'll try and hopefully one day I'll be able to stop.

[Erasmas]

You're welcome. I hope you find something that works! I'm pulling for you!

[inyourskinnies]

Ever heard of the butterfly project?
If you haven't, then this is all it is.
You draw pretty butterflies, wherever you cut, in ink.
No scrubbing them off, that's cheating.
They have to fade on their own...(The only flaw in this plan is that they fade.)
But you name the butterflies after people you love
And if you cut, you kill them.
So it's like you're killing the people you love.
If you have multiple butterflies, one cut kills all.

That's all I have, because I'm a kid, and I don't know people.

[xXTiffaXx]

Yes, I have heard of the butterfly project, but I've never really done it :/ Maybe I should start. And I support To Write Love On Her Arms <3

[inyourskinnies]

Twloha ftw <3
I'd start, yush. It doesn't work for everyone, js.

[xXTiffaXx]

It may not work, but it's still worth a try