Question..

[Sunshine Girl]

Well i havent been on VT in awhile. and now im getting worse...
im getting so stressed over the littlest things. but anyways my question is that what does everyone do to fight an urge? ive tried the rubberband trick and that obviously dosent work cause i just snap it way too hard till it welts up :/ i have to get a handle on all of this. :(

[Rebel]

read the "Welcome To Cutting And Self Harm *Please read before self harm* " thread its got tons of different things you can do instead of cutting.

[Underground_Network]

Sterling, I can't give you specific advice because I really have no clue, but just know that I'm here if you need someone to talk to. My MSN is f-ed up, but you can still PM me on here or contact me other ways/chat with me in the VT chat. You're an awesome girl and you need to start to focus on things other than how life is now and cutting.

You need to find other things to occupy your time with. For instance, I know you love photography, so whenever you're feeling down you should try and take pictures or just do something you like. I mean, whenever I get down instead of trying hurt myself I vent through writing. Maybe you can vent through art or something along those lines.

I don't really know, I just hope you find something you really like and I hope things work out for you... And well, in the mean time, I'm always here, and I'm always willing to talk... :)

[Triceratops]

Sometimes, the urges are too strong. I have the littlest willpower so whenever I'm distressed, I head straight to the bathroom with a razorblade or anything sharp.

But, I do lots of drawings, tattoo designs (one of my main main main interests is tattoo art and I wanna be a tattoo artist when I'm older :P) and photography related things. Or I play video games or write song lyrics, poems or stories. I usually do all this stuff in my spare time. Just somehow, I can never do those things INSTEAD of cutting when I feel the urge to :|

[peanutx]

Try not to get stressed as easily. Think of the many reasons why you shouldn't give into those urges. How you'll feel about yourself after, how you would be hurting those who love you, how hard you've worked not to give in. Also keeping yourself occupied, go to a friends house, have a sleep over, call up one of your friends for a chat, take a walk in the park, jam to some music, writing, drawing, watch a comedy!
There's a lot you can do to resist these urges, you've just got to have some faith in yourself.

[byee]

I don't understand the rubber band trick, anyway. It's
overly simplistic in that "Dr. Phil" kinda way, it doesn't address the underlying urge. It's merely a momentary distraction, much like cutting itself. I think they call that 'Symptom substitution', although it is a better substitute.

You want the "Real thing", not a substitute, or a distraction. So, until you figure out what's driving that urge, you want to do something totally incompatible with self harm, something to distract yourself, but in a pampering way.

Everyone has their own ways of nurturing or taking care of themself, so you want to use *that* urge as a signal to engage in some old fashioned care taking. Remember, *that* urge is triggered by some very dark, very bad feelings. The antidote to them, even if you don't know the where or why, is to treat yourself with respect. Not 'Punishment', like the rubber band snap.

[Sunshine Girl]

thanks everyone. :)