self harm substitutes:

So, I know from personal experience and what I've been told, self harm is a way to "cope" or "deal" with whatever a person is going through. For anyone who doesn't know what self harm is, hopefully they haven't encountered it, it is an intentional injury to ones self, typically as a manifestation of a psychological or psychiatric disorder.  Whether its a small scratch or a deep cut, self harm is self harm and its best to share your emotions with the people who care about you. Even if you think that no one cares about you, PLEASE do not self harm! It's not a good way to express your feelings, its not going to solve any of your problems. What it will do is leave you with mental and physical scars. I learned this the hard way. Instead of self harming, here is a list of things to do to take your mind away from hurting yourself:

Taking your mind off of self harm:

• Go for a walk, to clear your head.
• Clean your room (cleaning is also a great way to exercise!)
• Think about beautiful things like space, wild flowers and happy places.
• Drink tea (Or coffee, or hot chocolate. Any warm comforting drinks you enjoy.)
• Cry (sometimes you just need to let everything out.)
• Bake something.
• Read something interesting or just good.
• Draw. (This really helped me)
• Paint. (This also really helped me, you could do it on paper a canvas or on your body)
• Hug someone you love.
• Just get some alone time/ consult with others (which ever you prefer)
• Drink lots of water.
• Get lots of sleep.
• For the sensation of pain/ anger relief:
• Snap an elastic band against your wrist.
• Rub an ice cube up and down your arm.
• Just scream really loud, or sing really loud.
• Clap until it stings.
• Pluck your eyebrows.
• Wax your legs.
• Feeling pain wasn't really why I used to self harm, it was mostly to take out my frustration on myself.
• But I know that there will be a lot of people who do it to feel pain, or just to feel at all.

Hope these help:)-A