SELF HARM RESOURCES

Things to think about as you learn about self-harm recovery:

• Am I ready to stop?  (​a 4 part pros/cons chart) (Do I know why I harm?  Do I know my triggers?)

• Why do some people want to stop?  (​other people's lists of reasons)

• Why do I [personally] want to stop?

• What if I mess up?

  • Slip-ups

  • Relapse

• What can make recovery easier?

• How do I keep on track and remain focused after a few months? (Maintenence)

 

Articles about recovery:

Some reasons people decide to recover

 

Preparing to stop harming

 

Sticking to Stopping

 

Tools of Recovery (Aimed at substance abuse, but very relevant to recovery from self-harm)

 

Ways to Reduce Self-Harm - various ways to approach recovery as a process and some great ideas of how to give yourself more of a choice when you are triggered.

 

Knowing the differences between slips, lapses, and relapses can help you recognize that things getting harder, or returning briefly to a behavior, doesn't have to turn into a full-blown return to self-harm, and by recognizing slips and lapses, you can work to prevent lapses and relapses.

 

So you slipped up - Filling out a Behavioral Chain Analysis worksheet can help you identify what put you at risk to harm again and what you might find helpful in preventing self-harm in the future.

 

What to expect in early recovery, and how to react to slip-ups and prevent relapse.

 

Brief article about how the way you THINK about your slip-ups can influence how likely you are to relapse, or get back on the road to recovery.

 

Brief article about how you can keep an eye out for signs that you may be drifting towards a relapse.

 

How do I stay Motivated?

• Keep a Log of all the times you wanted to hurt yourself, but DIDN'T.  It can help you track your progress, even before you are managing to go weeks at a time without harming.  It can help you focus on the positive steps you've been able to make so far.

• Make a list of reasons you want to stop-harming.  Write down the consequences of harming, and the benefits that will come from recovery.  Review this list often, and ADD to the list too!  During the recovery process your reasons may change quite a bit.  Keep your list uptodate so that it is still relevant to you when you need a reminder of why you're working so hard to stop/reduce harming.

• Make short-term and long-term goals.  Think about meaningful rewards for long-term goals that really reflect what it means to be recovered/well into recovery.  

• Don't think about recovery as black-and-white!  You're not going to fail.  Check out this (very) short video about recovery.