Repetitve motions as self-soothing techniques

[Spirals]

TW SH

Lindsey,

I used to be a cutter. I don't self harm very often anymore, but I still scratch parts of my body way too intensely sometimes. I personally still think self harm is a very effective way to relieve emotions, but I agree the aftereffects are not pretty. 

I like how everyone is throwing out their self-soothing hobbies, lol. Now I want to try ceramics and coloring books (I secretly was very interested in them, lol). I have a barbie I dress and pose sometimes. I used to play a lot of RPGs, but I need to find a new game to beat... I can tell myself it's stress management 

[Three Roses]

Spirals, thanks for your post but I have to strongly disagree with you about SH being a way to "relieve emotions".

If you're injuring yourself, even in a minor way, or if you have thoughts of harming yourself, reach out for help. Any form of self-injury is a sign that you're in pain, and that you may need help to escape that pain in a healthy way.

If you're in therapy, your T can help you find alternate ways to express your emotions. If you don't have a therapist, reach out to someone you trust who can help you take the first steps to successful treatment. There is supportive, caring and nonjudgmental help out there!

[Spirals]

TW SH

Hi, Three Roses

Sorry about the trigger warning. I should have realized the post needed one  I didn't mean to encourage self-harm, but I could see how my post could be interpreted that way. I feel that shame can sometimes fuel the cycle of self-harm, so I didn't want LL to feel ashamed that her coping mechanism wasn't as "appropriate" as some of the others.

I am looking for a therapist but it's been hard to find one that accepts my insurance. I am actually very articulate with people about my pain, and talking it out helps but I feel that it's more of an investment in decreasing it over the long-term and raising my stress threshold. I do know how to express my emotions in a healthy way. I'm not suicidal.

But talking doesn't seem to work on an emotion that has suddenly "spiked." Self-harm is more something I do if my frustration spikes into a particular nail-on-chalkboard level. Like from over-stimulation. I know some people rely on it for day to day emotions (which I believe is problematic from personal experience trying this route) so I should have thought of that implication before I posted what I did.

I do agree that self-harm is often counterproductive and is a warning sign that pain/stress is reaching unsustainable levels. I don't think someone should rely on it instead of building more appropriate coping mechanisms and reaching out for support 

[Three Roses]