There's Always Light at the End of the Tunnel

People who self harm generally from my experience do not think about off the risks that are associated with things such as cutting. Yeah there is the obvious risk such as cutting to deep, or cutting an artery which may lead to death. But beyond that there are more risks such as infection. Leaving a cut untreated can lead to infection and if a infection is not treated this can lead to future complications. if an infection is sever may require antibiotics and a doctors treatment. But along with that there is many serious infections that can come from self-harming. When a person is feeling very low and want to self harm they may use anything that they can come in contact with to harm because they are desperate. It is not good that they are self-harming and it is a lot worse if they decide to use something that may be dirty or may have been used by someone else and could have harmed them by accident. If something such as a razor blade is used that has been used by another person ma...

While i was looking on the internet the other day I found this article and thought that it would be good for people to read and might help them cope. "I have a green box. It isn’t just any old green box, although it looks that way to most people, but it is special, really special. It’s whats inside that counts My Green Box is for special occasions – occasions when I am feeling out of it and when I want to self-harm. It is a safety mechanism that my psychiatrist and I have put in place. Maybe it isn’t the box so much that is special, but the contents and their purpose. It is a mixed up muddle of finger paints, water colours, brushes, plasticine, paper, pencils, pens, glue, little toys, a small puzzle, pictures from calendars for analysis – anything and everything that will keep me occupied when I really need to hurt me. It is a distraction mechanism. It also has  envelopes  and addresses for letter writing and a safety list of phone numbers I can call if I...

  Recovery from a mental illness or any illness for that fact does not just happen with a snap of the fingers or over night. I guess that I decided to write this blog post because I am still on my road to recovery and well to be honest I’m not sure if I will ever come to the end of that road. Some people may come to an end in their journey and that is great while others may not but that doesn’t mean its a bad thing. Recovery is something that is different for all of us. No one person will have the same journey to recovery as another person no matter how similar your situations are. My journey to recovery didn’t start when I was in hospital because I dint want to get help and I didn’t want to change my bad habits. I did everything that I could to avoid any help that was going to be given to me by the hospital staff. It wasn’t until I began to take the hep that was given to that I finally began my journey to recovery. It was a long road in the hospital and I am still not at the...

When you are a  person who self-harms it is very important to try and avoid things that you can use to hurt yourself with. You may not want to do that and well I guess that means that you’re not ready to stop harming and if you want to stop harming you need to be ready and that takes time. For me it was hard. I was in hospital so it did maker things a bit easier but I always found something that I could harm with. It wasn’t until I got an email from my brother until I really decided that I needed to stop and I slowly began to try and avoid things I could harm with. Its hard don’t get me wrong and you need to be ready and want to do it for yourself otherwise it means nothing. You have to do it because you want to stop. It is impossible to avoid everything that you can hurt yourself with and believe me that statement is true. But many people who harm use the same type of things each time. It is important to identify what you feel you could harm with and make an effort to avoid ...

Here are some useful websites that you can use when in a time of distress or you just need someone to talk to. www.aware.ie www.bodywhys.ie www.grow.ie www.headsup.ie www.letsomeoneknow.ie www.menatlhealthireland.ie www.shineonline.ie www.spunout.ie www.barnardos.ie www.headstrong.ie

On the road to recovery it is important to find other things that you can do instead of hurting yourself. I found that it was a good ideal to write a list of things that I could do so that in times of distress I could go to my list and pick something to do. It may help to do these activities a number of times during the week even if you don’t have an urge to self-harm. That way when you get the urge you will have already been use to doing some of these replacement activities. One of the things that I found really worked for me was placing my hand in a bowl of ice. I bowl full of ice. It took me a while to start using it because I felt that it was weird. I soon got use to it and now if i am really struggling I will put my hand in a bowl of ice. I would suggest trying that because I have found it to work well and it might work well for you too. It’s painful at the start but it helps relax me. Give it a go and see if it helps you. It’s worth a try. Some of the other things that yo...

Using images to create a calm place to go to in your mind when you are feeling overwhelmed or you want to harm can help you to beat the feelings and urges. Try to create a safe place in your mind it can be anything that you want or any place that you feel safe in and that you are in control of what is going on. This can be hard to do but with practice it becomes easier to do.  It is important to use as many senses that you can when creating your safe place. The more senses that you use the better you will feel. My safe place is at my athletic track. Here i feel in control and I am happy here. I imagine the sounds of the coaches talking and the sound of the children laughing and playing. The sound of the older athletes Talk or complain about school or the leaving cert. I feel the wind in my face or the sun on my skin. I fell in control and alive. I feel safe her and I am happy because I am doing something that I love. I can smell the freshly cut grass and the smell of spring. ...