Little rituals?

[munchausen]

For me no two times when I self harm are ever the same; I never use the same things to cut (or burn now I suppose), I never stick to a room, listen to music or anything. The one thing that stays the same is that I disinfect whatever I'm using with alcohol and the area around where I'm going to cut just to be safe.

I've been wondering though if any of you have a set ritual for self harm, I'm not asking your ritual because technically that's sharing methods of self harm which is against the rules but do you have one?

[Aspiringanonymous]

I did, back around the time when I first started, and was doing it on a daily basis. As a part of my daily routine, really; a shower cleansed the body, a bleeding cleansed the mind, or so it seemed.

[GreyxRainbow]

I don't.

[Marcie]

Not really... Basically all I do is I pick up the knife, cut where ever and clean up.

[Asylum]

nope

[ShatteredWings]

i won't listen to music.
no animals can be in the room.
almost always clean the blade off with rubbing alcohol after the fact.

And, I suppose this is the exact opposite of a ritual, but I make a point to avoid cutting in a predictable pattern.

[BeautifulDisaster]

I have OCD so I have to do it a certain amount of times until it feels "right".
My numbers are 3 and 5.
So I have to do it in those sets of numbers.
Sometimes I'll just be extremely impulsive and do it over & over, dozens of times, but until it "feels right".
OCD not good.

[Fruit_Tart.]

i sorta do. i mean when i do its bcuz of someone or something that happened. and then i dedicate each cut to whomever i think should get it becuz of wat they did to me or how they make me feel...

[screamtobeheard]

Yeah, I kind of do. But at the same time, not really.

I have OCD so I have to do it a certain amount of times until it feels "right".
My numbers are 3 and 5.
So I have to do it in those sets of numbers.
Sometimes I'll just be extremely impulsive and do it over & over, dozens of times, but until it "feels right".
OCD not good.

I don't have OCD, but like she said, I have to do it either a certain number of times or until it feels right. My number is 8. Or any multiple of it. As well as just the impulsive over and over until it feels right.

If you wanna call that a routine...

[BeautifulDisaster]

For me, it is a routine, because it clashes with my OCD, so it is a routine + compulsion.

[screamtobeheard]

I don't have OCD, I just know my similarities. So I guess I don't really know if mine's a routine or not.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Not saying you do have OCD, I'm just stating that for me, it is both routine and a compulsion combined.

[screamtobeheard]

I know.

[BeautifulDisaster]

Erm, okay then.

Moving on.

[-Silence]

I did.

I had to have music, I had to have either a candle or insence lit. I was always sitting on my bed, the blade would be cleaned before I used it. Next to me would be a paper towel and a cloth towel. I never had a ritual about how many cuts, just enough to get the feeling away. Afterwards I'd wrap my arm in the paper towel, pull sleeves down and go to the bathroom and clean it up, then back to my room, wrap my arm with the cloth towel, blow out the candle(s) and go to sleep.

For a long time I couldn't get to sleep unless I did my ritual.

[georgiamay]

well, when i used to do it, it was always on the spur of the moment, so i'd just grab anything that looked like it would cut, and cut myself with it...so i didnt have a ritual really, unless you count cleaning up after yourself a ritual :/

[cezisnotdead]

I used to go through a ritual of getting the lighting right with candles, and planning exactly where and how I would cut, but if I was upset in the middle of the day I would just sneak away and burn myself, and there was no ritual in that, and whenever I relapse now there's no ritual in it, I just slash randomly where ever.

[HeroesAndCons]

i usually just pick it up cut wait 10 mins and clean

[munchausen]

thanks for the replies, seems like the answer for most people is yes ATM.