still here

opulentes:

ABUSE

Information

Love Is Respect (Digital Abuse)

Love Is Respect (Emotional/Verbal Abuse)

Love Is Respect (Financial Abuse)

Love Is Respect (Physical Abuse)

Love Is Respect (Sexual Abuse)

Love Is Respect (Stalking)

Help Guide

Coping

Caring for yourself

Domestic abuse

Chat Rooms 

Survivors Chat

Fort Refuge

Pandy’s

ADD/ADHD

Information

Help Guide

Attention Span Test

Attention Quiz

Concentration Quiz

Coping

Coping Tips for Attention Deficit Disorder

12 Best Tips for Coping with ADHD

50 Tips On The Management of Adult Attention Deficit

Medication

ADHD Medication Chart: Compare Drugs for ADD and ADHD

Drugs Used to Treat ADHD/ADD

ADD/ADHD Medications: Are ADHD Drugs Right for You

ADHD Medication Side Effects, Drug Types, Precautions

ADDICTION

Information

Help Guide (Alcohol & Drugs)

Half of Us (Alcohol & Drugs)

Coping and Recovery

Tools of Recovery: Addiction Coping Skills

5 Ways to Deal With Urges and Cravings 

After Rehab: 5 Ways for Addicts to Cope

Addiction Recovery

Coping With Urges

Dealing With Cravings

ANGER

Coping

strategies to keep anger at bay

Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper

Anger Management: Tips and Techniques

Feeling Angry

Controlling Anger — Before It Controls You

Dealing With Anger

How To Cope With Anger

Anger management: What works and what doesn’t

Ten Commandments of Anger Regulation

ANXIETY

Information

Anxiety Quiz

Social Anxiety Test

What are your stress triggers?

Coping Skills Quiz

Anxiety disorders explained

Help Guide (Anxiety Attacks & Anxiety Disorder)

Understanding and managing anxiety

learn more about anxiety

Anxiety Self-Assessment

Help Guide (General Anxiety Disorder)

Help Guide (Social Anxiety Disorder & Social Phobia)

Explanation of anxiety and self help tips 

Coping

a list of stress relievers

Identifying and Managing Anxiety

11 Assorted Anxiety Tips for Anxiety Sufferers

How to work through feelings of isolation

Tips and tricks for dealing with anxiety

Anti-stress breathing tips

How to stay under control with severe social anxiety

Coping with social anxiety

Managing Stress

how to help a friend with anxiety

Help Guide (Therapy)

Half of Us

Job interviews and social anxiety

Dealing with anxiety

Coping with test anxiety

Tips for flying anxiety

Grounding techniques 

More grounding techniques 

Even more grounding techniques

Mindfulness

Belly breathing

Living with anxiety

Social anxiety disorder self help tips.

Coping with flashbacks

What anxious racing thoughts are like for me

Using a thought diary

Panic Attacks

How to handle panic attacks

Exploring and coping with panic attacks

10 Rules for Coping with Anxiety and Panic

Tips to cope with panic attacks

Rules for coping with anxiety and panic

Understanding and coping with panic attacks

Understanding and helping panic attacks and panic disorders

Help Guide (Panic Attacks & Panic Disorder)

Coping with panic attacks workbook

Rules for coping with panic

Panic attack workbook 2

Interactives

Emotional baggage check

The Dawn Room

The quiet place

The thoughts room

Stress Analyst

cloudflowing

imagination

planetarium

weavesilk

calm

make sand art online

lifeinneon

dolldivine

barcinski-jeanjean

rainymood

do nothing for 2 minutes

stars

Muscle Relaxation

Mood chart

Medication

Help Guide (Anxiety Medicine)

Common Medications for Anxiety Disorders

Guidelines for Medication Use

Chat Rooms

HealthfulChat

Phobics Awareness 

Healing Well

Anxiety Space

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Information

Help Guide (Signs and Symptoms)

Half of Us

Bipolar Depression Quiz

 hypomania

Coping

Bipolar disorder and self-help

Living with bipolar disorder

How to deal with bipolar disorder without medication

10 ways to cope with bipolar disorder

Coping skills

Help Guide (Self Help)

Bipolar Support tumblr

Medication

Help Guide (Bipolar Disorder Medication Guide)

Help Guide (Treatment)

Chat Rooms

HealthfulChat

Bipolar World

Healing Well

DEPRESSION

Information

depression information

Depression Infographic 

Help Guide (Depression: Signs, Symptoms, Causes & Help)

Help Guide (Teenage Depression: A Guide for Parents)

Half of Us

Depression Quiz

Coping

How to cope with depression

How to cope with depression 1

Natural depression treatments

Ways to deal with depression/stress

Tips to help overcome loneliness

10 Tips on How to Work Through Feelings of Social Isolation

8 Tips to Overcome Loneliness

Ways to deal with depression/stress

having a bad day?

Make a comfort box

10 Things to Do When You Feel Like Crap

how to find a new normal in the middle of depression

you are not alone in the way you think you are

reasons to stay alive

how to stop trying to think yourself into happiness and actually arrive there

cheer me up

Help Guide (Dealing with Depression)

Help Guide (Helping Someone with Depression)

Medication

What to expect with antidepressants

Finding the right anti-depressant

Chat Room

HealthfulChat

Healing Well

EATING DISORDERS

Recovery

281 Reasons to Recover

Eating Disorders and Emotional Eating Test

Relapse Prevention

Bloating, Indigestion, & Feeling too full

Why You Must Eat

Learning to Love Your Body

Tips to Stop Restricting

Dealing With Weight Gain

10 Steps to Bulimia Recovery Workbook

Coping with Exercise Addiction

Tips to help with bulimia recovery

Help Guide (Emotional Eating)

Help Guide (Binge Eating)

Help Guide (Bulimia)

Help Guide (Helping Someone With an Eating Disorder)

Help Guide (Treatment and Recovery)

Stop Hating Your Body

Body Positive Zone

Self Care 101

self esteem

30 day self esteem challenge

developing positive self esteem

learning-to-love-yourself

Something Fishy

Ways of coping with eating disordered behaviors

The addiction help center

FRIENDS WITH ILLNESS

How to deal/talk with bipolar and depressed people

What to do when your friend is talking about suicide

What to do if someone you know is overdosing

What to do if your friend is hurting themselves

How to help someone who is suicidal

here’s what you tell someone who wants to commit suicide

tips for looking after someone with depression

Friends with metal illness?

What to do when someone is suicidal

Help Guide (Helping Someone with Depression)

GENERAL RESOURCES

Feelings Wheel

PsychForums

Psych Central 

Lets Recover Together

How to find a Support Group 

DailyStrength

GRIEF AND LOSS

Help Guide (Coping with a Breakup or Divorce)

Help Guide (Coping with Grief & Loss)

Help Guide (Coping with Pet Loss)

Help Guide (Supporting a Grieving Person)

Help Guide (The Five Stages of Grief)

HOTLINES

Crisis Text Line: Text “SUPPORT” to 741741

Crisis Call Center Call 1-800-273-8255 (24/7) Text ANSWER to 839863 (24/7)

Thursday’s Child Call 1-800-872-5437 (24/7)

The Trevor Project Call 866-488-7386 (24/7)

National Safe Place Text SAFE and your current location to the number 69866

National Runaway Safeline Call 1-800-786-2929 (24/7)

National Domestic Violence Hotline Call 1-800-799-7233 (24/7) 

MEDITATION

Tips to Start Meditating

8 Ways to Make Meditation Easy and Fun

18 Minute Guided Meditation: Blissful Deep Relaxation

1 Hour Universal Mind Meditation

Guided Meditation for Sleep and Good Dreams

Guided Meditation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Guided Relaxation

Foundations in Flow Yoga Class

Heart Opening 30min Yoga Class

10min Shoulder Yoga Routine

9min Yoga Breathing Exercise (Pranayama) 

Kundalini Yoga Breathing Exercises (3 min)

Yoga Poses

OCD

Information

Specific Symptoms of OCD

Distinguishing OCD From Other Conditions

The Course of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder 

 How do Obsessive Compulsive People Think?

Coping and Treatment

Natural Treatment Options

Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Additional Treatment Options for OCD

Residential Treatment for OCD

Medications for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A New Relationship to Your Obsessions

How to Find Help for OCD

OCD: Exposure Therapy Versus Medication

Cognitive Therapy for OCD

Chat Rooms

HealthfulChat

OCD-UK

PERFECTIONISM

Information

Perfectionism Resources

Perfectionism - a double-edged sword

Type-A Personality Quiz

Perfectionism Test

Procrastination Test

Perfectionism: the road to failure

perfectionism and procrastination

Coping

How to Overcome Perfectionism

LEARN TO MANAGE PERFECTIONISM

How to Overcome Perfectionism & Procrastination

Perfectionism - Stress Management

10 Steps To Conquer Perfectionism

perfectionists coping with failure

PTSD

Information

Help Guide (Traumatic Stress)

Help Guide (PTSD)

Help Guide (Emotional & Psychological Trauma)

Mental Help

PTSD Infographic

Understanding PTSD

What is PTSD?

Coping

Coping with flashbacks

Self Help Strategies for PTSD

Coping with Traumatic Stress Reactions 

 Post-Traumatic Stress - Self-help Guide

Understanding and Coping with PTSD

Coping with PTSD

SCHIZOPHRENIA

Information

Schizophrenia: What’s in my head?

Help Guide

schizophrenia

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Types of Schizophrenia

Causes of Schizophrenia

Coping

Living with Schizophrenia

Coping With Schizophrenia 

Schizophrenia Coping and Recovery

Schizophrenia: Coping with Delusions and Hallucinations

Paranoid schizophrenia Coping and support

Treatment

An Introduction to the Treatment of Schizophrenia

Treatment of Schizophrenia

Drugs to Treat Schizophrenia

Common Drugs and Medications to Treat Schizophrenia

Treating Schizophrenia Successfully 

SELF-HARM

Cut something that’s not real skin

Half of Us

Help Guide

Recover Your Life

Self-Injury Outreach & Support

How to care for cuts

Resisting cutting

25 ways to avoid self injury and prevent self harm

Tips to help stop cutting

99 Coping Skills: Things to do Instead of Cutting

What to do when someone sees

How to fade/cover scars

Alternatives For Cutting 1

Alternatives For Cutting 2

Alternatives For Cutting 3

Alternatives For Cutting 4

Alternatives For Cutting 5

SELF-LOVE

how to stop putting yourself down

Self confidence

how to improve your self-esteem

How to be ok with yourself

tips on self-love

Confidence

Learn to love yourself

when told you are not pretty

emergency compliment

lessons for self-love

SUICIDE

Coping with Suicidal Thought

What to do when someone is suicidal

How to help someone who is suicidal

here’s what you tell someone who wants to commit suicide

Help Guide (Suicide Prevention)

Help Guide (Dealing with Suicidal Thoughts & Feelings)

THERAPY

how to get free therapy

Getting a Therapist - a brief step-by-step

Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Therapist or Counsellor?

50 Signs of Good Therapy

50 Warning Signs of Questionable Therapy

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you! Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

————————————————————————————-

Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

-Draw something

-This website translates the time into colours.

-Create your own galaxy.

-Play flowing.

-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 

-Listen to music.

-Calm.

-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.

Sleep issues; 

- 8 hour sleep music.

-Rainy mood. 

-Meditation.

-Coping with nightmares.

-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.

-Calm

-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 

 Uncomfortable with silence; 

-Rainy mood.

-10 hours of rain and thunder.

-3 hours of rain and thunder.

-Human heartbeat.

-Rainforest.

-Sound of rain on a tin roof.

-Autumn wind.

-Rain on a tent

-Traffic in the rain.

-Soft traffic. 

-Fan.

-Train.

-Simply noise.

-My noise.

-Rainy cafe.

Anxiety; 

-How to stop worrying. 

-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 

-Self-help strategies for anxiety. 

-Helping a friend with anxiety. 

-All about worrying.

-8 myths about anxiety. 

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

-“I’m always sad”

-Feeling sad.

-Going through trauma.

-“I’m always angry”.

-Anger management. 

-All about anger.

-National helplines and websites.

-Self-help strategies for depression.

-Dealing with depression at work.

-Dealing with depression at school.

Isolation and loneliness; 

-Pets and mental health.

-All about loneliness. 

-“I feel so alone”

-10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 

-How to deal with loneliness.

 Self-harm;

-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.

-146 things to do besides self-harm.

-More alternatives to self-harm.

-Self-harm alternatives.

-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.

-Getting rid of scars.  

Addiction; 

-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.

-What is addiction?

-All about alcohol and addiction.

-The facts about drug addiction.

 Eating disorders; 

-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.

-Eating disorder treatments. 

-Support services for eating disorders. 

-Self-help tips with eating disorders.

-Eating disorder recovery. 

-Recovering from an eating disorder. 

-100+ reasons to recover. 

-Understanding and managing eating disorders. 

 Dealing with self-hatred;  

-3 ways to ease self-loathing. 

-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.

-Self-hatred resources.

-10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 

 Suicidal; 

-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)

-Preventing suicide. 

-Reasons to stay alive.

-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

-Coping with suicidal ideation.  

 Schizophrenia;

-All about schizophrenia.  

-Helping a person with schizophrenia.  

-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  

-Delusions and hallucinations.  

OCD;

-Managing your OCD at home. 

-Overcoming OCD.

-How to cope with OCD. 

-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

-Helping someone with BPD. 

-All about personality disorders.

-Treatment for BPD.

Abuse; 

-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 

-Emotional abuse

-Overcoming sexual abuse. 

-Hotlines services. 

-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 

-Domestic violence support. 

-Signs of an abusive relationship. 

-What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 

-Surviving abuse. 

-What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 

-Sexual assault support.

-What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 

 Bullying;

-How to stand up against bullying.

-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.

-How to help stop people bullying you. 

 Loss and grief; 

-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.

-Grieving for a stranger. 

-Common reactions to death. 

-Working through grief.

(Other loss and grief)

-Moving away from friends and family. 

-Coping with a breakup.

 Getting help; 

-Seeking help early. 

-All about psychological treatments. 

-Types of help.

-All about age and confidentiality. 

Things you need to remember; 

- Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.

-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 

- This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 

-You are not alone. 

-You are enough. 

-You are important. 

-You are worth it. 

-You are strong. 

-You are not a failure, 

-Good people exist. 

-Reaching out shows strength. 

-Breathe. 

-Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 

-Give yourself credit. 

-Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 

-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 

-Focus on the things you can change. 

-Let go of toxic people. 

-You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 

-Try not to beat yourself up. 

-Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 

-You are not a bother.

-Your existence is more than your appearance. 

-You are smart. 

-You are loved. 

-You are wanted. 

-You are needed. 

-Better days are coming. 

-Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 

-You have more potential than you think. 

- Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

Calm Harm can be tailored to your needs and will provide strategies to help you get past those crucial moments of wanting to harm.

It’s also totally FREE.

Disclaimer: Below is a list of things to do instead of cutting, burning, bruising, or any other form of self harm. Please keep in mind that unfortunately, not everything on this list will work for everyone. So, if you try something and it doesn’t work for you, don’t get discouraged! Some of these choices are complicated, and you might want to utilize the help of a therapist or trusted friend when undertaking them. Recovery is not a process that can be walked through alone, so don’t be afraid to reach out for help.

Alternatives for when you’re feeling angry or restless:

•Masturbate. I know it sounds funny but it can get your mind off of things and calm you.

•Scribble on photos of people in magazines

•Viciously stab an orange or another fruit

•Throw an apple/pair of socks against the wall

•Have a pillow fight with the wall

•Scream very loudly

Tear apart newspapers, photos, or magazines

•Go to the gym, dance, exercise

•Listen to music and sing along loudly

•Draw a picture of what is making you angry

•Beat up a stuffed animal

•Pop bubble wrap

•Pop balloons

•Splatter paint

•Scribble on a piece of paper until the whole page is black

•Filling a piece of paper with drawing cross hatches

•Throw darts at a dartboard

•Go for a run or a walk

•Write your feelings on paper then rip it up or burn it

•Use stress relievers

•Build a fort of pillows and then destroy it

•Throw ice cubes at the bathtub wall, at a tree, etc

•Get out a fine tooth comb and vigorously brush the fur of a stuffed animal (but use gentle vigor)

•Slash an empty plastic soda bottle or a piece of heavy cardboard or an old shirt or sock •Make a soft cloth doll to represent the things you are angry at; cut and tear it instead of yourself •Flatten aluminium cans for recycling, seeing how fast you can go •On a sketch or photo of yourself, mark in red ink what you want to do. Cut and tear the picture •Break sticks •Cut up fruits •Make yourself as comfortable as possible •Stomp around in heavy shoes •Play handball or tennis •Yell at what you are breaking and tell it why you are angry, hurt, upset, etc. •Buy a cheap plate and decorate it with markers, stickers, cut outs from magazines, words, images, what ever that expresses your pain and sadness and when you’re done, smash it. (Please be careful when doing this)

Alternatives that will give you a sensation (other than pain) without harming yourself:

•Hold ice in your hands, against your arm, or in your mouth •Run your hands under freezing cold water Snap a rubber band or hair band against your wrist •Clap your hands until it stings •Wax your legs •Drink freezing cold water •Splash your face with cold water •Put PVA/Elmer’s glue on your hands then peel it off •Massage where you want to hurt yourself •Take a hot shower/bath •Jump up and down to get some sensation in your feet •Write or paint on yourself •Arm wrestle with a member of your family •Take a cold bath •Bite into a hot pepper or chew a piece of ginger root •Rub liniment under your nose •Put tiger balm on the places you want to cut. (Tiger balm is a muscle relaxant cream that induces a tingly sensation. You can find it in most health food stores and vitamin stores.)

Alternatives that will distract you or take up time:

•Say “I’ll self harm in fifteen minutes if I still want to” and keep going for periods of fifteen minutes until the urge fades •Color your hair •Count up to ten getting louder until you are screaming •Sing on the karaoke machine •Complete something you’ve been putting off •Take up a new hobby •Make a cup of tea •Tell and laugh at jokes •Play solitaire •Count up to 500 or 1000 •Surf the net •Make as many words out of your full name as possible •Count ceiling tiles or lights •Search ridiculous things on the web •Color coordinate your wardrobe •Play with toys, such as a slinky •Go to the park and play on the swings •Call up an old friend •Go “people watching” •Carry safe, rather than sharp, things in your pockets •Do school work •Play a musical instrument •Watch TV or a movie Paint your nails •Alphabetize your CDs or books •Cook •Make origami to occupy your hands •Doodle on sheets of paper •Dress up or try on old clothes •Play computer games or painting programs, such as photoshop •Write out lyrics to your favorite song •Play a sport •Read a book/magazine •Do a crossword •Draw a comic strip •Make a chain link out of paper counting the hours or days you’ve been self harm free using pretty colored paper •Knit, sew, or make a necklace •Make ‘scoobies’ - braid pieces of plastic or lace, to keep your hands busy •Buy a plant and take care of it •Hunt for things on eBay or Amazon •Browse the forums •Go shopping •Memorize a poem with meaning •Learn to swear in another language •Look up words in a dictionary •Play hide-and-seek with your siblings •Go outside and watch the clouds roll by •Plan a party •Find out if any concerts will be in your area •Make your own dance routine •Trace your hand on a piece of paper; on your thumb, write something you like to look at; on your index finger, write something you like to touch; on your middle finger, write your favorite scent; on your ring finger, write something you like the taste of; on your pinky finger, write something you like to listen to; on your palm, write something you like about yourself •Plan regular activities for your most difficult time of day •Finish homework before it’s due •Take a break from mental processing •Notice black and white thinking •Get out on your own, get away from the stress •Go on YouTube •Make a scrapbook •Color in a picture or colouring book. •Make a phone list of people you can call for support. Allow yourself to use it. •Pay attention to your breathing (breath slowly, in through your nose and out through your mouth) •Pay attention to the rhythmic motions of your body (walking, stretching, etc.) •Learn HALT signals (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) •Choose a random object, like a paper clip, and try to list 30 different uses for it •Pick a subject and research it on the web - alternatively, pick something to research and then keep clicking on links, trying to get as far away from the original topic as you can. •Take a small step towards a goal you have.

Alternatives that are completely bizarre. At the least, you’ll have a laugh:

•Crawl on all fours and bark like a dog or another animal •Run around outside screaming •Laugh for no reason whatsoever •Make funny faces in a mirror •Without turning orange, self tan •Pluck your eyebrows •Put faces on apples, oranges, or other sorts of food •Go to the zoo and name all of the animals •Color on the walls •Blow bubbles •Pull weeds in the garden

Alternatives for when you’re feeling guilty, sad, or lonely:

•Congratulate yourself on each minute you go without self harming •Draw or paint •Look at the sky •Instead of punishing yourself by self harming, punish yourself by not self harming •Call a friend and ask for company •Buy a cuddly toy •Give someone a hug with a smile •Put a face mask on •Watch a favorite TV show or movie •Eat something ridiculously sweet •Remember a happy moment and relive it for a while in your head •Treat yourself to some chocolate •Try to imagine the future and plan things you want to do •Look at things that are special to you •Compliment someone else •Make sculptures •Watch fish •Let yourself cry •Play with a pet •Have or give a massage •Imagine yourself living in a perfect home and describe it in your mind •If you’re religious, read the bible or pray •Light a candle and watch the flame (but please be careful) •Go chat in the chat room •Allow yourself to cry; crying is a healthy release of emotion •Accept a gift from a friend •Carry tokens to remind you of peaceful comforting things/people •Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles •Curl up under a comforter with hot cocoa and a good book •Make affirmation tapes inside you that are good, kind, gentle (Sometimes you can do this by writing down the negative thoughts and then physically re-writing them into positive messages) •Make a tray of special treats and tuck yourself into bed with it and watch TV or read

Alternatives for when you’re feeling panicky or scared:

•"See, hear and feel"-5 things, then 4, then 3 and countdown to one which will make you focus on your surroundings and will calm you down •Listen to soothing music; have a CD with motivational songs that you can listen to •Meditate or do yoga •Name all of your soft toys •Hug a pillow or soft toy •Hyper focus on something •Do a “reality check list” – write down all the things you can list about where you are now (e.g. It is the twenty sixth of April, twenty sixteen, I’m a room and everything is going to be alright) •With permission, give someone a hug •Drink herbal tea •Crunch ice •Hug a tree •Go for a walk if it’s safe to do so •Feel your pulse to prove you’re alive •Go outside and attempt to catch butterflies or lizards •Put your feet firmly on the floor •Accept where you are in the process. Beating yourself up, only makes it worse •Touch something familiar/safeLeave the room •Lay on your back in bed comfortably (eyes closed), and breathe in for 4, hold for 2, out for 4, hold for 2. Make sure to fill your belly up with air, not your chest. If your shoulders are going up, keep working on it. When you’re comfortable breathing, put your hand on your belly and rub up and down in time with your breathing. If your mind wanders to other things, move it back to focusing ONLY on the synchronized movement of your hand and breathing. •Give yourself permission to…. (Keep it safe)

Alternatives that will hopefully make you think twice about harming yourself:

•Think about how you don’t want scars •Treat yourself nicely •Remember that you don’t have to hurt yourself just because you’re thinking about self harm •Create a safe place to go •Acknowledge that self harm is harmful behavior: say “I want to hurt myself” rather than “I want to cut” •Repeat to yourself “I don’t deserve to be hurt” even if you don’t believe it •Remember that you always have the choice not to cut: it’s up to you what you do •Think about how you may feel guilty after self harming •Remind yourself that the urge to self harm is impulsive: you will only feel like cutting for short bursts of time •Avoid temptation •Get your friends to make you friendship bracelets: wear them around your wrists to remind you of them when you want to cut •Be with other people •Make your own list of things to do instead of self harm •Make a list of your positive character traits •Be nice to your family, who in return, will hopefully be nice to you •Put a band-aid on the area where you’d like to self harm •Recognize and acknowledge the choices you have NOW •Pay attention to the changes needed to make you feel safe •Notice “choices” versus “dilemmas” •Lose the “should-could-have to” words. Try… “What if” •Kiss the places you want to SH or kiss the places you have healing wounds. It can be a reminder that you care about myself and that you don’t want this •Choose your way of thinking, try to resist following old thinking patterns •The Butterfly project- draw a butterfly on the place(s) that you would self harm and if the butterfly fades without self-harming, it means it has lived and flown away, giving a sense of achievement. Whereas if you do self-harm with the butterfly there; you will have to wash it off. If that does happen, you can start again by drawing a new one on. You can name the butterfly after someone you love. •Write the name of a loved one [a friend, family member, or anyone else who cares about you] and write their name where you want to self harm. When you go to self harm remember how much they care and wouldn’t want you to harm yourself. •think about what you would say to a friend who was struggling with the same things you are and try to be a good friend to yourself. •Make a bracelet out duct tape, and put a line on it every day (Or any period of time) you go without self harm. When it’s full of lines, take it off and make a chain out of all the bracelets and hang it up somewhere where you can be reminded of your great progress.

Alternatives that give the illusion of seeing something similar to blood:

•Draw on yourself with a red pen or body paint, or go to a site such as this, where you ‘cut’ the screen (be aware that some users may find this triggering, so view with caution) •Cover yourself with plasters where you want to cut •Give yourself a henna or fake tattoo •Make “wounds” with makeup, like lipstick •Take a small bottle of liquid red food coloring and warm it slightly by dropping it into a cup of hot water for a few minutes. Uncap the bottle and press its tip against the place you want to cut. Draw the bottle in a cutting motion while squeezing it slightly to let the food color trickle out. •Draw on the areas you want to cut using ice that you’ve made by dropping six or seven drops of red food color into each of the ice-cube tray wells. •Paint yourself with red tempera paint.

Alternatives to help you sort through your feelings:

reblog if you are too!!!

reblog if you grew up in a preforming arts atmosphere (musical theatre, acting or dance; anything like that) and have since devolped an ed or any dangerous dieting problem

you deserve to eat

you need to eat

food is not the enemy

calories give you the energy to smile

you are worthy

you are loved

i am proud of you for fighting, you can do this!!

5 seconds of insane courage, it’s all you need

your struggles are real, so is your bravery

you are good enough

you are not a mistake

you are one of a kind