25 More Ways to Avoid Self-Injury and Prevent Self-Harm

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This blog is a continuation of the initial article posted on December 31, 2008, “25 Ways to Avoid Self-Injury and Prevent Self-Harm.”

If you are feeling pressured to get past the “heat of the moment” and you need some ideas of how to do this safely, try using a handful of the following ideas.  These ideas will not help solve your self-injury issue on a long-term basis, but they could help you to get through the actual moments when you are feeling at the highest risk.  Safe distractions that also provide some element of emotional expression are a good balance.

 

1.  Find a brick wall (or any kind of strong wall with no windows), and kick a soccer ball against the wall.  Consciously put the anger you are feeling into the ball as you kick it.  The cracking sound of the ball smacking the wall can be satisfying as well.  The louder the better!

 

2.  Use handfuls of ice, ice packs, or cool cloths to soothe and calm yourself.  Some people may find warm cloths or heated warm towels more comforting.  Changing a physical sensation in your body and concentrating on that may help to calm your frayed nerves.

 

3.  Put your anger into something useful — be more assertive with utility companies that aren’t doing their job, or tackle other external household issue that need a more aggressive approach.  I’m not necessarily promoting being rude to someone who doesn’t deserve it, but you might be able to constructively resolve an existing problem with your added energy and intensity.

 

4.  Color or draw. Small, repetitive movements are soothing and calming, and you might learn something from your picture.  The others inside might tell what they are upset about through the drawing that is made. 

 

5.  Dance out your feelings.  Use strong energetic body movements to release the adrenaline and to wear yourself out.  Pick music that fits your mood.  Sing along if you can – the voice release is good too.

 

6.  Write a long letter to your abuser(s).  At this point, write these letters with plans to NOT send them.  The point is not to set up a confrontation. 

Let your focus be on expressing your feelings about what they did to you.  Write the things that you might never have the courage to actually say to them in real life.  When you are finished, you can read the letters out loud repeatedly.  Use intensity in your voice.  Let yourself say the words with emotional honesty and genuine expression.

 

7.  Get obsessed with some safe activity — for example, do in-depth research on a particular subject on the internet, pull every weed from your yard, wash every dish in your cupboards, pace 10,000 steps, etc.

 

8.  Count those annoying little doodads on the ceiling, and when you lose count –  which you will – start over. 

 

9.  Do puzzles (the harder the better).  There are lots of free online jigsaw puzzle sites if you do not have any actual puzzles in your home.

 

10.  Practice relaxation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises. Take long, slow, deep breaths.  Inhale deeply and slowly, hold for a few counts, then release your breath slowly.  Do this until you can feel yourself calm down.

 

11.  Play video games, and take your aggression out on beating the game, or smashing and bashing the other “enemy” characters in the games.  Time away “in another world” can help release the pressure you are feeling right now in your world.

 

12.  Clean out your fridge or freezer, scrub it, making it clean and organized.  This same idea can be applied to closets, or drawers, or bookshelves, etc.  Getting involved with a complicated household task will give you another focus, a place to put your energy, and a positive sense of accomplishment when you are finished.

 

13.  Alphabetize your books, CD’s, Videos, DVDs, etc.

 

14.  Hammer nails into a piece of lumber or old tree stumps until you are exhausted. Watch your fingers – the idea is to NOT do any self-injury!  The physical movement will be helpful, the noise will be satisfying, and if you speak about your anger and upset while you are banging away, you will be expressing your feelings at the same time.

 

15.  Wash your vehicle, your outside windows, your driveway, your floors, etc.  The physical movement helps, and the accomplished feeling of being clean afterwards can help lift your mood.

 

16.  Go sit in the waiting room of a hospital, and read a book or magazines, and sip on coffee.  You do not have to talk to doctors or any of the hospital staff – people will assume you are there waiting for someone who has an appointment. Just being in a calm, safe place can help.  

 

 

17.  Take the time to groom your pets and give them treats.  Try teaching your dog a new trick.

 

18.  Do something for yourself that makes you feel pretty, such as brushing your hair, doing your nails, getting your hair cut, coloring your hair, wearing perfume, etc.  When you feel lousy, try doing the OPPOSITE of that by doing something that helps you feel pretty.

 

19.  Make something creative. You might have to pre-plan this, or have some options available just around the house.  Finish a paint-by-number picture, work on needlepoint or sewing projects, try beading, learn how to make your own jewelry, etc. Getting creative will help distract you and put you in a better frame of mind.

 

20.  Do a collage. It is amazing what comes out in pictures, and you might not have realized what was going on in the background.  The collage might explain it to you.

 

21.  Do acronym writing exercises.  These acronym exercises might help you uncover why you are feeling so terrible while expressing some of the pain.  Expression often eases the pain.

 

22.  Hold a frozen orange. Feel the coldness.  Look closely at the frost on it. Hold the frozen orange where you wish to SI. Scratch the orange, smell the aroma. Look at bright orange color.  Count the little dots in the orange peel.  As you feel better, allow yourself to eat the orange and throw the peelings away.

 

 

23.  Throw water balloons at a fence, a wall, or a tree and watch them explode. As you throw each water balloon, make a comment about something you are upset about. Use your body and your voice to express your feelings.

 

24.  Build a model car or airplane or create something that takes a lot of detailed mental focus. 

 

25.  Go to the library or book stores where it’s fairly quiet, but people are around.  Make a list of 100 books you would like to read at some point in time.  Or pick five books from each aisle that you would be willing to read.  You can browse for hours, and no one would think anything of it.  The same kind of book browsing could happen at online book sites as well.

 

 

Stay busy – do things over and over from these lists until you feel safe enough to manage your self-injury impulses. 

 

Sometimes just getting past the peak time will be enough to keep you safe. 

 

The more you work on emotional expression in an ongoing way without allowing it to build up to a critical numbing point, the better.  One of the biggest keys to resolving self-injury issues is to increase your emotional endurance.  The more you can sit with your feelings, the less you will have to hurt yourself to numb them away.

 

 

Safety first!

 

I wish you the best in your healing journey.

 

Warmly,

Kathy

 

Copyright © 2008-2018 Kathy Broady MSW and Discussing Dissociation

 

Related articles

• 25 Ways to Avoid Self-Injury and Prevent Self-Harm 

• Why Can’t I Stop Hurting Myself? 12 Thoughts about That

• Turning Self-Injury into Self-Soothing