Self H@rm Alternatives - Tumblr Posts
Let's talk SH
Content Warning. Major Discussions of S*lf H*rm mostly the context of alternatives (descriptions kept to a minimum). Please be mindful of your own triggers, and read at your own pace, look after yourselves, that kind of thing. Please. 💜
Many of my councillors, therapists, and psychologists have told me to 'just do it in red pen' instead of doing it with a blade, this is a great idea. If and only if, you have broken the original desire for pain. We really want to be finding options that distract our brains rather than giving them time to ruminate.
So let's jump right into some of our most effective alternative options.
(Please be aware, we do not condone starting to SH if you can avoid it, there are better options. This list is intended for those of us who already have issues with SH)
If you're struggling, please reach out.
Global Suicide Hotlines: https://faq.whatsapp.com/1417269125743673
https://www.depression.org.nz/
distraction based solutions
Make a playlist. Jump into Spotify, Apple Music, YT music, burn a CD, just Collect Music That Fits Your Feelings in the moment.
Crack open that recorder you haven't touched since your first year of school, bang on the pots and pans... make a racket, scream to the heavens.
I mean in this in 100% seriousness: if you have a video game that you like, play it. No ones care if you're playing Roblox, blowing up TNT in Minecraft (extremely satisfying), stealing cars in GTA, whacking up a storm in Wii Sports Resort Swordfighting, playing Fireboy & Watergirl on CoolMathGames, solving puzzles in the Legend of Zelda, do the wordle, code something on Scratch, or playing some random game you installed yesterday; get your brain busy and get it occupied. Especially if you can beat up on something (mass murdering bokoblins in LoZ AoC, anyone?)
Play with the ✨bored button✨ https://www.boredbutton.com/
Video games not your thing? How about Sodoku? Solitaire? Word find?
Read a book
Call or text a friend. Easier said than done, especially if you feel like you're burdening them, but this can really help. You don't even have to talk to them about what you're going through. Ring up your local autistic or ADHD friend; ask them about their current hyperfixation, by the time they're done, there's a good chance you'll have forgotten everything.
Find a new research topic. Open Wikipedia to a random page (just type "Special:Random" in the general search box or click that link), spend the next several hours learning about it and following all the hyperlinks.
Get your body moving, YouTube workouts can be great for this if you're confined.
some kind of pain w/o pain
Make a character. Write about them. Hurt them. Put them through hell and back again. Write someone else's pain. Even if your character is hurting themselves, it's better than hurting you. Even if it's absolutely terrible writing. We're not looking for the next best-selling novel here (most likely no one else will even see it), we're only looking for someway for you to externalise your hurt.
Find a book or fan fiction. There are plenty of books out there with scenes where someone's in pain. Alternatively, jump onto A03, find a fandom you like, pop 's*lf h*rm' into the tags, most fandoms there's at least one. (Please be mindful of trigger warnings here and whether seeing characters in pain makes it worse).
Write out every single reason you want to hurt yourself on your skin. Leave it until the urge dies down. Wash it off.
Run a blunt object over your hands. I find thumb stones super helpful. Fidget with a fidget toy, keep your hands busy.
If you can sing, sing. Scream in the shower.
Paint, draw, colour. Scribble everywhere. D r a w. Draw an arm, and draw yourself bleeding if it helps.
Write terrible poetry. This is the main thing that's helped me.
pain without injury (not ideal)
rubber band around your wrist, snap it a lot.
suck on an ice cube
eat something super sour (or super spicy!)
run something pointed (not sharp) against your skin
draw on yourself with henna, or make up
speaking of, SFX wounds made of makeup? amazing.
have a very hot, or absolutely freezing shower
If you're up to figuring out why you want to hurt, sometimes this can help too. And ofc, I always suggest journalling out your thoughts.
And here's a website with some more
https://projectlets.org/alternatives-to-selfharm
Please add your own suggestions in the comments! I'd love to hear what helps
Genuinely, the main goal here is to keep your body unhurt in someway. Stay safe out there <3
We needed somewhere to collect viable self harm alternatives because yk, mental illness is as mental illness does.