Author Topic: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*  (Read 138600 times)

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Offline Hettie-D

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #110 on: October 31, 2013, 10:25:56 PM »
 :trig:




I cant remember exactly when the first time I sh'd was b :13886:ut I remember that it was just before when my little sister was rushed into hospital with a kidney problem called HSP. It was around about christmas and we were putting up the tree but em (my sister) couldn't help because she'd recently gotten a virus that attacked her immune system leaving her in so much pain that she couldn't stand up for long because of the pain; this was the day I first hurt myself. I thought that I'd caused her to be ill -a few years before we were fighting in the car and she fell out of the door (it wasn't moving, don't worry) and ended up in hospital for 2 weeks having tests done and nothing was discovered so she was sent home- and so I started scratching my thighs. This went on for a few months until we found out that she had gotten HSP- this was caused by the virus that attacked her immune system by making her kidneys work too hard so that they tired themselves out and made her ill.

A few years later, when I was in year 8, there was a boy the year above me and we started talking and started meeting up and eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend. After a few weeks he started acting strange and trying to push me into things. At this point I was really close to my cousin who was 4 years older and I knew that she'd gone further than just kissing her boyfriend so I thought it would be okay and did the same thing with my boyfriend. At this point I was only 12, I thought I was in love and didn't think that it was wrong. It went on for another week and then like kids do, I dumped him. This was when all of the rumours started to fly around and school found out and told my parents. Like most parents would be, they were angry with me and I thought that they hated me. This was the second time I started self harming and I gave myself a bad friction b**n on my hand, using a coin. I did this twice and I still have the scars as vivid as ever, nearly 3 years later. If anyone asks I say that they're burns from an oven.

The next time that I self harmed was when I started to get bullied by a girl who was older than me and scary and I let her get to me. After this I hurt my self on and off for several other reasons that I don't want to go into detail about.

The last time I sh's was when I was doing really badly at school and my parents were upset with me. I thought I was letting them down and on top of that I was having a really bad time with my best friend, he had recently moved to america and we were drifting away after years of being inseparable. I started using a tool. He moved back and we aren't as close as before but I know that I can always talk to him even though he never knew that I hurt myself.

I haven't hurt myself since but I think I've found ways of copping on my own through art and performing arts. If anyone ever needs help please message me, i don't want anyone to suffer anymore.  :1027:   :1059:   :1017:   :tiny doggie:

Offline Aj

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #111 on: April 18, 2014, 09:10:52 PM »
I've come back to the forum after a long time away because I've recently began to feel bad again. I hope not to SH this time- it's been about a year since I last did.

 :trig:
So I really don't know why I first SH but I do know what led up to the point when I did.

I used to work a very stressful job where I would witness people die and suffer the most atrocious, life changing injuries. I was quite senior in my position and so I took on a lot of responsibility. You know, sometimes people don't realise how long they're running on empty until they've nothing left. I was crying at work, not sleeping and drinking heavily. A senior colleague told me to go to the GP and as I described my physical symptoms and was asked how long this had been going on, it slowly dawned on me that I'd been like this for 5 months- not the few weeks I'd thought.
AD did nothing and my colleague gently told me that I needed to go off work sick- I wasn't safe.
Things just got worse- I wasn't eating, sleeping, washing, or even taking care of my kids. I had to stop driving as I couldn't trust myself.  I don't remember much of this time...... My friends and colleagues were with me all day and most nights as they've since told me they thought 'I'd gone' and maybe I had.
I don't remember the first time I did it but I do remember one time after a friend had just left in the early hours being in the kitchen with a tool slashing at myself, the dog watching me with pity on her face. It was the blood I wanted and it just was something I could do to distract myself from my suicidal thoughts. It became my coping mechanism and if I felt myself slipping, I'd be crying as I sharpened that tool knowing I was about to mutilate myself.

This forum, my psychiatrist, friends, family and some pills got me through all that. I'm glad I found this place because if I feel myself slipping I can come here and know that others have been at the same place.

Offline Noodle93

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #112 on: July 07, 2015, 11:05:52 AM »
Okay, I'm pretty new here and I'm not quite sure how it all works so I'll post this guy in just in case   :trig:

I'm also a little nervous  :blushing:  AND there's a hell of a lot to say so please excuse the essay coming your way.

I'm 22 and have been self harming for about.. 6 years now when I was 16.

To be honest, I'm not totally sure why I actually started but I know that due to a domino effect of things going on in my life at that point, I carried on. It was during this time that my granddad got very ill and shortly after passed away. He lived abroad and for 3 months, my dad and uncle travelled back and forth to visit him and spend the last days with him. He eventually passed and a week before my 15th birthday my mum and I flew out for his funeral. I did not have to go but I have two younger siblings and small cousins and felt that I should go for all of us. Anyway, it was beautiful and we flew back and I tried to celebrate my birthday. My friends and boyfriend made a huge effort but there was just a hole. I went back to school a day after and this is where it started i guess.

I was doing my GCSE's at the time, and like anyone, I wanted to do well.. I've never been particularly academic, I never really struggled with the work, I just got bored really easily and gave up listening to the teachers after about 20 minutes. I also had 'personality clashes' with some of the teachers at my school. The real issue was that they did not like me, I had a real problem with an art teacher who used to hold up my work and tell the class that I hadn't worked hard enough on it, (when we did our homework she always said she wanted quality over quantity, so naturally I spent a hefty amount of time working hard on a smaller, more detailed piece rather than a large piece of not very good work). She would then take my work out of my book and rip it up, again in front of the class. Obviously, that caused some issues between me and her, and instead of her explaining what I was doing wrong, she left me to keep doing it wrong.
She also believed that I was a disruption within the class and sat me on my own and anyone who spoke to me was told off, if I said anything to anyone else, I had an automatic hours detention. Even if it was quiet chatting to my friends or asking to borrow pens/pencils/paints - anything. Whilst I had been away I had misplaced my art book, I explained to my art teacher it was probably at home and I would bring it to the next art lesson and she huffed and puffed and shouted that just because I had had a family issue, that was no reason to forget my art book. She then wandered around each classroom and announced to the classes that my grandad had passed and that I had lost my art book, if anyone should find it - place it in her office. It was embarrassing and I felt so sick because of it.

I keep side tracking (sorry!) This carried on for the remainder of my GCSE's - and I fell behind on other subjects too, the teachers having to have meetings with my parents and I got moved around sets because of my concentration. It was around this time that I stopped eating, I don't know why I did, I loved food - my family have roots in India and Italy, two cultures where big family meals are a huge deal. I just physically couldn't eat. Everything had no taste and it was an effort to force myself to eat something - I used to either throw it away or give it to my boyfriend. My mum started to notice and phoned the school and I was under watch by the dinnerladies every lunch time. It was horrible - the school then referred me to a dietary nurse who I had to have meetings with, who encouraged us to eat in healthy ways. They then put me on a programme because I was having issues with the teachers which they thought was my fault.

This is when I started self- harming. Things were just going from bad to worse and they got so much worse -  :trig:

I now not only felt horrible because I wasn't doing well at school, and my family was disappearing at an alarming rate, but now I had huge body issues and hated the way I looked, I've never been slim, but I wasn't big either - I never really used to mind my weight, but something happened inside me and I hated myself. I was fed up of constantly being hurt, that I started to cut deeper, and anywhere on my body that wouldn't be seen by my friends/family/ sisters/ teachers - my thigh was a particular favourite. Then one day my mum found out from somewhere - I still have no idea how - that I had been cutting myself. I came home from school and she made me strip down to my underwear and show her what I had done. She cried more than I've ever seen her cry and she told me how sad she was that I had done it. That was my turning point. I said to myself I wouldn't do it again.

I lasted a few months and went off to college - a fresh start - new people, new place and it was amazing. Then my other grandad passed away a year after my other grandad and my grandad's partner a month after that. My gran passed away the year after and my Nonna the year after that. It just seemed.. never-ending, I hated everything, lost interest in things I loved and stopped eating once again. I didn't want to go to university as I did not feel good enough to go, but my college teachers encouraged me to apply, I applied and got offers from all my choices. At last, I felt like things were looking up - I secured a place at university and studied there for the past 3 years - with a truck load of ups and downs but my boyfriend (at a different university) supported me through everything.

 :trig: I have recently felt, that things are turning sour again. I frequently have bad days, but it's not just a bad day, it's like a huge monster is constantly on my back - just dragging me down. Like I'm not allowed to be happy. I hadn't harmed for a good 8 months, but yeah.. recently it's just getting too much. I cut myself a few days ago because I feel like I'm a let down. I could explain but it would take up more of everyone's time ha. My boyfriend, who's stuck by me for the last 8 years is starting to struggle with my need to cut/ starve/ harm myself. I used to talk to him about it because he would always make me feel better, but rightly so, it's getting on his nerves and he doesn't understand why I do it.

That's why I joined this site. He said something the other night which has fuelled me to stop. And i really want to.. I just don't know if I can. I now hate going on holiday or anything like that because of the scars on my legs and hips, I managed to get my other scars tattooed over with a Marilyn Monroe quote because they were not that deep. I just want to be okay.

Thank you for listening everyone, I hope I haven't bored you with it.



Offline DanB1980

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #113 on: December 09, 2017, 12:42:52 AM »
So I am 37 years old and a father of 1 tremendous 7 year old boy and I have a loving Fiancee too.

A few years ago, maybe when I was 20, I self harmed for the first time and I only did it the once. I remember it well but don't remember why I actually did it. We move on 17 years and the summer this year I self harmed again but the reason for this was because my family was away on holiday and I was worried they would be killed in a plane crash. That is something that is way out of my control. That was August this year and then nothing.......until now.

A couple of weeks ago, I went into a depressive state of mind where I felt really down and that I couldn't be bothered with anything. I mean I do shift work so would go to bed early, but I was in bed at 1930 everyday simply because I had no get up and go. I have stopped Karate and also photography too. I was annoyed, stressed and highly agitated ALL the time and now this week, I have had a couple of panic/anxiety episodes on the way to work and also at work. This week, my mind is messed up and I have resorted to self harm. Why, well the reason is because it is the only thing I feel in control over and when I do it, my mind is focused and free at the same time, It is a release. Now that I have done it, my agitations seems to dissipate along with my annoyance (it's still there but not as much). It now seems to have gotten that bit addictive and I am sure within the next few days, my Fiancee will find out and ask questions and that scares me something chronic. I mean what will she say? Will she be angry? Will she be sad or disappointed? I have no idea what the reaction will be. I know she knows I am in a depressive state but she doesn't really know how to help and I don't blame her for that. I have never felt this down, even when I was a Prison Officer and I had therapy for anger and stress. I saw first hand the issues of self harm and never thought I would be one who is crying out for help. How things change. I was once looking after victims and now I am one.

I am worried that the self harm is a downward spiral which I won't be able to get out of. If you look at the internet, there is plenty of help for people below 25 but over that and certainly over 30 and people who are self harming parents, there seems to be little or no support available which is frightening. Gone are the days of the stereotypical self harmer.

I have a GP appointment next week (Wednesday) so that is one of the first steps. "A journey of a 100 miles begins with a first step". I don't know what to say to the GP or even what support they can offer. I know every case is taken on merit and is different but all of this scares me. On the outside I appear fine but inwards, I am scared and don't have massive confidence in my abilities.

So that is my story, plain and simple. For those who read this, I thank you very much. I feel all your pain.

Offline Mihashi

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #114 on: April 05, 2019, 09:26:43 AM »
:trig: SH, SUI

I think I started Self-harming when I was around 9, as I said before. I really can't remember now since I'm in my mid 20s and it's just been so long, and I've been doing it on and off. It's always been as a form of punishment, though. The main reason for this is that, now looking back, my mother did physically and verbally abuse myself and my siblings, but once the 2nd child came, a lot less of it was toward me, so I felt that I needed to keep myself in check if things were going to be fair. Our house has been notoriously a loud and rather off-putting one due to how much screaming there is. I've never been a fan of it, but I'll be the last to say that abuse was anyone's intention at all. Things have gotten better since. For a long while, I thought that maybe it was a good idea to commit suicide at some point because, hey, all the kids in the neighborhood seemed to want me to anyway, and why not make them happy? The main reason why I still live is that the same voice telling me to harm myself gives a reminder that doing so would be an easy way out, and I wouldn't be living up to responsibility. I've also learned over the years that I like living, so both of those keep me going.

Over the years, it started off very simply, but like a constantly upgrading machine, I found more and more creative ways to do it. I'll get back to that later. The reasons for it always changed too, from guilt of hurting someone emotionally on accident, to letting people toy with me too much, to grades (they've about never been good, especially at the start of all this), to sometimes out of generally feeling that I'm worthless and therefore need punishment.

I've found 2 ways that this comes on.
1 - I can feel it coming like an oncoming train. Sometimes I can get rid of it before it arrives.
2 - There's this short, very short moment where I feel the imbalance in my head go wild. It happens between the incident itself, and my self-harm, whichever way it manifests.

I can't really pinpoint any patterns on what circumstances lead to either, though. What is a pattern though is what happens after. It seems all the emotions that I try to suppress (sadness, hope - strangely, mostly sadness though) come at me like a typhoon and I end up in tears within minutes.

I said I'd come back to the multiple ways that this manifested. Well, in the middle of a particularly rough patch, and nearly killed myself with a glass milk jug. My sister (number 2 mentioned previously) thankfully called emergency and it turned out that night that the majority of the injuries were on my hands and not head, and I got stitches in both of them.

I went to therapy for about a couple months after that, doing CBT. That helped me gain a more positive voice to drown out the one plaguing me for so many years. I also stopped loathing myself (I think I'm... okay. Not that great, but okay-ish). And for 2 or so years, that seemed to do the trick.

Until one time I managed to get the car stuck at the grocery store, upon which I had a flash of self-harm. Since then, it's been a somewhat gradual, but also exponentially faster spiral into more dangerous territory. A couple weeks ago, I'm sure I sprained my thumb harming it. I hadn't even noticed I hit there, where my focus was on a couple seemingly larger spots.

The thing here is that every time I start self-harming again, it comes back stronger. And the voice I developed in CBT has been crumbling, with the more rather negative voice coming back with "I don't care" with every rebuttal I give it. I've gotten again to the point where there's no actual reason for the self-harm as punishment, but it seems that in that moment, it's needed anyway. I'm terrified that what happened on the night with the milk jug will happen again, but far, far worse. Because I didn't even realize I might have died then until after getting stitches, I'm almost certain if it does happen again, that it'll be through a harder form that does kill me quicker.

I have a fiance right now, and for the month at least, I'll stick with him. He's very good to me, too good really. I have a lot of thoughts where I don't deserve something, but he truly is someone I don't.

So that's why I'm here. I'll probably edit this post here later because there's still more to add, but those are the details for now.
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Offline kiraziyal

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #115 on: April 28, 2019, 03:17:18 PM »
:trig: maybe somewhere, probably - just in case.

I started SH when I was either 23 or 24 in 2003 / 2004.  I'm 38 now.  It was at it's worst when I first started so 15 or 16 years ago.  It was just cutting my upper left arm.  I didn't realise it at the time and, I've never actually said this to anyone (so apologies for dumping it on everyone here), but I think it's because I'm bisexual.  I've only recently admitted it to myself.  I always just thought the SH happened was because I had no confidence or wasn't enjoying my job or university or whatever.  There were lots of cuts on my arm but I always covered them up.

Then the SH happened again in 2009 and again just last month.  Both of these last two occasions have only been one cut each time.  Having this time frame has made me realise the one thing which was there in all 3.  There was someone I liked (a different person each time) and I could never tell them.  Mind you, I shouldn't be surprised, I don't tend to tell anyone anything.

But I told one of my lecturers about the SH last month (also the relevant person mentioned above in the last paragraph). 

There's probably a lot more to this but I'm being my usual self in thinking I shouldn't be wasting people's time so don't bother in case they are too polite to tell me to shut up or go away.  Ramble over.

Offline greenie

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #116 on: June 03, 2019, 09:13:20 PM »
Okay, this is the first time I've actually written all of this down, so let's see how this goes.
(I'm currently 16 by the way.)
 :trig:

I first started SH when I was ten. I didn't know what I was really doing. At the time, my sister had gotten drastically ill and was in the hospital every day. My grandmother was ill as well, and my parents got really depressed because of it. My little sister was too young to understand what was going on, but it was all enough to make her non-verbal at school. My dad had to work a lot more to make sure we could afford the necessary things for my family, and my mum was always at the hospital, so I didn't see a lot of them. I was really depressed, but I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I had panic attacks at school a lot, and things were looking really bad social wise for 10 year old me, my anxiety never helped with anything. My friends didn't understand what to do or how to help me, so they just went along with whatever was happening and kind of ignored it, because what were they supposed to do really?

Two months before my tenth birthday, I was having a panic attack alone in my room. I remember feeling really numb, and feeling like I was past sadness, and I kind of just did it? It stopped me from crying, and that was the only thing I took away from that experience at first, so I started using. I didn't know it was an issue, or that it was bad. I saw it as a good thing? I would SH to stop myself from crying and that was that. I thought my friends knew, but that they just didn't say anything because what would they say, and they'd never really said anything about the panic attacks before. So this went on like this until I was about 12.

That year, it had got to a point where I knew my friends understood what was going on, but they just didn't think I was worth helping. I thought that no one cared, and panic attacks became a daily thing, with my friends still leaving me alone to deal with them. I would SH a lot, and everything got worse with my sisters' health, she got taken away by an ambulance in the middle of the night, and then my grandmother died, and my aunt got cancer, and my dog died. It really wasn't the best year, and this heavily affected my mental health.

It got to a point where I asked my mum for therapy because I thought I was depressed. I still didn't fully understand the SH, but at that point, that still wasn't an issue for me. We talked about t, and she said I was too young to be depressed and didn't let me.

In school, I was kind of known as the person who had anxiety attacks and panic attacks a lot. I had a lot of girls who used to bully me. They'd be rude about the death of my grandmother and would generally be very mean and make my life a nightmare. When they taught us about mental health in school, they brought in these people who did a play on mental health and drug abuse and they explained it all. I was so, so scared when they talked about SH. I didn't know really what I was doing before that, and it terrified me so much that I had an anxiety attack and a memory blackout for the rest of the play. I didn't know what to do. I thought I must really mean nothing if my friends knew about what SHing actually was (which they all seemed to) and didn't do anything about it. This brought me to the darkest place I got to in my life, and I stayed there for about two years until I was 15.

It got so bad that sometimes I would bang my head against a wall until I felt I wasn't alive or wasn't there and felt really dizzy.

The next year, I decided to open up to one of my closest friends who had experienced the impact of illnesses on families first hand and I was telling her about my SH, and she said she didn't know. I was so confused, because I SH'd in front of people a lot, but she really didn't seem to know. She then told me that no one knew, and I realized that maybe that was true and had a panic attack. She asked me if anyone knew, and I said, my parents and my therapist (I didn't have one and my parents had no clue), and she said she wouldn't tell anyone.

A couple of weeks later, I was talking to her about it and my other really close friend overheard. She was the only person who actually knew, but she had a lot of mental issues going on. She told me she knew, and I completely freaked out. I thought that everyone knew, then no one, and I didn't know how to feel. So I emailed friend 1 to ask for advice. But, that email got flagged, and that's how my parents found out about the whole thing. I was traumatized by that conversation, as I've always been very closed with my emotions.

In January of that year, there was a new girl in our class. I thought she was the most beautiful person I've ever seen (and I still do), and this led to my realizing I was gay. I fell in love with her, but she was in as bad a place as I was. We started talking, and I told her about all this ^^. She was the first person to ask me to stop cutting. That really meant something to me. We became best friends, and it was really painful and hard being in love with her, and I didn't tell anyone for a year. That summer was a very bad summer for me, and I had multiple attempts to end my life. I would've too if it hadn't been for her and my sister.

So I had an attempt and didn't see this girl for a week afterward. When she saw my wrist she genuinely sobbed. I promised her I wouldn't try again and I never did. (we later came out to each other and I've never been happier then I am dating her).

Being gay also made me more nervous and anxious, and all throughout I SHd and spiraled. I felt really uncomfortable saying I love you to people, but I made new friends who helped me through it, and I got better over time. I feel a lot happier now, but I can't seem to stop SHing. I don't know why, I just don't have any other coping mechanisms besides banging my head and cutting.

I feel like I could stop, and I should, but it's been so long that I don't really know who I am without it, but I think I'm getting better on all other fronts of my mental health, so that's good. But now I suffer a lot from body issues and hating my scars, but I never feel comfortable talking about it with everyone. And my derealization have gotten a lot worse and I still get a lot of panic attacks.
(Maybe I'm not doing as well as I think but at least I don't want to die anymore so getting a bit better?)

I used to have therapy, but I never could really open up, so there wasn't really any use in it for me. And my anxiety is still really strong. I think I've had to give myself four pep talks to write this. But again, I think I'm getting better on that front. My main problem is I don't know how to not be sad and I think I like it that way, even though I feel happy more now.

(I'm sorry this is so vague I have a lot more things to say but I'm very tired and this is a mess I'm sorry)

Offline J82T

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #117 on: June 12, 2019, 11:19:10 PM »
 :maytrigger:

I started to SH using 'tools' somewhere around age 17 or 18 I think, although I can remember using fingernails as young as maybe 9 or 10.  In any case, it was always done in total secret.

By my early twenties I was hurting myself regularly in places where the cuts could be easily hidden.  I've never been diagnosed with anything like depression or anxiety but whenever I did feel down, SH took the edge off those feelings.  Having a secret also appealed to me, as though knowing something that no one else knew made me somehow less inadequate than I already felt.

I stopped SH altogether when I met my wife-to-be.  I wanted to be able to tell her that it was an old habit, not a current one so I made myself stop and never hurt myself again while we were together.  The day she left after over ten years of marriage, I started again almost immediately.

I wanted to hurt myself so many times and didn't, because I'd promised her that I wouldn't.  I was proud that I'd stopped, and I'm ashamed to have gone back to it after so long but I've lost my reason not to.  In an attempt to get the habit under control I've started counselling this week and have also seen my GP.  I really want to beat this habit again.

Offline DavidJ

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #118 on: September 07, 2019, 06:49:52 PM »
Self-harm Mind-body Treatment

https://selfharmmindbodyhelp.jimdofree.com
http://selfharmmindbodyhelp.simplesite.com

Hello. This article is about my own successful resolution of a personal mental health issue, namely the presence of a specific self-harming thought. I would like to share my personal experience of successfully resolving an event triggered self-harming mental thought through an effortless mind-body health solution that simply, spontaneously arose in my mind one day whilst observing in my awareness the distressing self-harming thought.

The same self-harming thought would come into my mind daily or so continually for about a few months from its initial unwelcome onset late in my life until it was spontaneously resolved, eliminated by this simple mind-body awareness process I will explain in some depth here in this article. The negative thought to self-harm appeared in my awareness each time as a result of the same physical trigger event associated with the specific self-harming thought impulse or urge. More specifically, when holding a tool such as a cutlery or kitchen tool in preparation for a kitchen chore or eating, I would have a strong thought or urge to put the tool into my left eye. Of course, put the tool down you say but the self-harm was more present and the thought to put it down mostly did not initially arise in my mind, although when it did gain entry to my thinking I would do that. Eventually, the thought would lessen in intensity and leave my mind until the next thought impulse triggering event.

To help give you more idea of what was happening in my experience of this thought to self-harm, have you ever stood on the edge of a cliff and wondered about going closer to the edge and what it would be like to fall off? Imagine this curiosity being stronger turning more into an urge creating fear and distress so you quickly move away from harm as you feel somewhat out of control of this mental compulsion. My event experience trigger was somewhat like that, but stronger and more common as there are many times and occasions in daily life to use a tool than to approach the edge of a cliff.

If I had acted on the self-harming thought, which always took the same form as above, it may have resulted in serious injury or worse. Of course I have never physically acted on the thought as otherwise I would probably not be writing this article if I had. Nevertheless, I was somewhat concerned, worried about the negativity of the thought and that the urge could get stronger. So my story is not about actual self-harming but rather the thought or urge to do so and how I successfully dealt with it. Fortunately, the issue was resolved before it could have turned physical if it ever did.

This self-harming thought did not appear to be related or linked to coping with or reacting to stressful events that I was aware of in the present or past or guilt over such. I was not aware that it was an urge to create or result in some kind of relief of stress. Rather the self-harming thought had a simple physical event trigger, as indicated above. Generally my life, and I am in my seventies now, has been quite balanced both from a physical and mental health viewpoint. However, the fact that this thought was coming into my conscious mind and its somewhat disturbing nature made me think I needed to address it, whether psychologically, emotionally, physically, or whatever and especially if it appeared to get stronger.

I also appear to have periodically in my life mild tics or habits (undiagnosed Tourettes) and perhaps some limited degree of undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) type behaviour, but these symptoms have not been medically diagnosed and were more frequent in my childhood than adulthood. They are mild and not problematic for my life. I am unsure if these above termed psychoneurological conditions are related, although medical research suggests they are. The unconscious and the conscious minds are constantly changing the physical activity of the body for better or worse. Conscious and unconscious negative thoughts, emotions and experiences can cause various problematic symptoms in our life experiences through compulsive behaviour.

So what is this insight, this subjective mind-body help or treatment for the thought, urge to self-harm and how is it achieved? It is somewhat vague and difficult to explain to those who have not experienced it, as it is like describing what is spontaneously happening in the individual awareness rather than giving instruction on how to create it. It is the spontaneous simplicity of the process in our awareness that makes you wonder what you have just done to remove the thought and distress. It is an eye opening, transforming, eureka-like experience albeit subtle. It is the simplicity, spontaneity and present immediacy of the experience of wonder. A kind of instant wonder difficult to describe, but the experience although subjective is very real. You are left wondering what you have just done to bring about this change in thought awareness. Nevertheless, in my opinion and from a layman's experience and limited point of view, I can try to explain what is happening in this subtle mind-body process, and awareness of that may be able to precipitate the subjective experience of the momentary transformation in the mind-body experience. So here goes.

It is a psychological process of subtle change in awareness and effortless transformation of our thinking. It is a present, simple, effortless thought to remove a present self-harming thought in a moment of quiet observation. It is a subtle change from a self harming, strained, unnatural emotional thought to an effortless, quiet state with the absence of the self-harming thought in the mind's awareness. Thinking which replaces thinking, a new thought or experience of absence replacing another previous thought of self-harm but in an effortless, watchful, quiet manner with no emotion present in that moment of experience, such as fear. There is no strain in this subtle change in the thinking, awareness process. Simple awareness in the present moment is enough to create the change in thinking, to release the self-harming thought. A thought whether conscious or unconscious precedes our action. Action can be started or removed by a thought, a simple command if you like. The simpler, frictionless, innocent, effortless, relaxed, emotion free, unstrained and unforced the thought is the greater the power, strength, effectiveness and positive the result will be. It is a quiet moment of subjective observation in the mind that precipitates the experience.

How to do this? How can you in a moment of time transform your thought of self-harm to a thought of no self-harm which will actually work to stop in an instant the self-harming thought before it takes hold of the mind? By letting go of the thought of the particular act of self-harm. By taking away your attention from it in the present moment. No conscious self-harm can come without first a conscious thought of self-harm. A conscious thought precedes a conscious action. No conscious experience of a self-harming thought can occur without a thought of self-harm arising in the conscious mind. No action can occur in the body without first a thought, an impulse of intelligence, whether in the conscious or subconscious mind.

Thoughts are powerful and the quiet mind gives strength to the thought to fulfill its purpose through conscious or subconscious action. Simple, effortless intention in a state of calm mind can work wonders. Resistance, strain replaced by effortlessness, tension replaced by relaxation, failure replaced by success, unhappiness replaced by happiness, fear replaced by peace, complexity replaced by simplicity, harm replaced by harmlessness, hate replaced by love.

Rather than thinking, simply be. Be aware in the present moment. It is a process of quiet observation, relaxing, and a consequent subtle change of thought in the present moment. There is no judgement, no resistance, no strain. Be aware of yourself. Moving gently from the thought to awareness of yourself in the moment you are in. Moving gently in your quietly observing mind from a thought of self-harm to a simple state of awareness which does not allow the thought of self-harm through a delicate, simple shift in awareness of thought. A releasing, a letting go of the negative thought of self-harm. It is the experience of a natural, delicate shift in mind-body self awareness, of thought, of attitude; a subtle process of release in the mind. A spontaneous process that takes seconds. When it happens a sense of wonder arises as to the simplicity and effortlessness of the natural mind when it is allowed to function in the state of simple awareness.

Being natural, simple, effortless, delicate, subtle and effective the process does not go well with strain or effort. It is best used and applied sitting or lying quietly in safe, comfortable surroundings. It is a subtle process of effortlessly letting go. When a fearful thought comes into your mind to self-harm, and it does not matter how that thought is created, simply be aware of it and immediately, effortlessly change it in thought and feeling to a new thought and feeling of the absence of it. Be no longer fearful of it. In your subjective observation of it, let it go. This is a very subtle change in thought and feeling. A change from fear to joy, to love.

Every thought, an impulse of intelligence, has a meaning and feeling attached to it. The thought healing process is a simple shift in thinking and feeling in your awareness in a quiet moment. It is a subtle experience of letting go, of relaxation of the mind-body. Be aware of your thought, desire and feeling to self-harm and especially any resistance to that self-harming thought. It is fear, resistance and struggle that can lock the mind into the self-harming thought. Whatever we resist we attract and through fear, resistance and struggle with the thought create conflict in our mind. In the process of observation, release the self-harming thought by simply removing resistance to it.

It is a simple, effortless, instant change in attitude. From resistance and struggle to acceptance and effortlessness. Simply aware with no strain or resistance. From mental strain to relaxation. By simply being aware in a quiet reflective mind of the thought and associated feeling we change it.

Through the process of observation the observer affects the observed. Our mind-body system functions quantum mechanically. It deals with infinities. There are trillions of living cells in the human body and every cell knows what every other cell is doing. It is a mind-body system. This is quantum mechanical functioning on the level of mind-body intelligence. Note the three propagation, maintenance and destruction operators in quantum physics. Compare in ancient Indian Vedic philosophy where in sanskrit they are termed rishi, devata and chandas. The subject, process of observation and the object. The three in one. The observer affects that which is observed through the process of observation. Nothing can exist without the presence of all three. As the quantum physicist Prigogine pointed out, if there is one photon of light in a closed box it cannot be said to exist unless it is observed, experienced.

Utilising this three in one mind-body process, in this simple, unstrained state of mind we are replacing the twisted unnatural thought of harm with the natural, frictionless thought, experience of acceptance, release, love. The self-harming thought and feeling melts away. It is just an effortless shift in thought and feeling in an instant. We do not resist the self-harming thought, we accept it and in that moment of acceptance we simply are aware that it is not necessary. We do not need that thought. Instantly you feel a change, a very subtle change in your mind and feeling. Simply by that alone you have changed destruction to creation, self loathing to self love, conflict to peace, strain to effortlessness. Observe innocently and release innocently. Simple, effortless, no strain. Simply choosing a different thought, a different attitude. Love instead of non love. I choose love here. I choose love here. I choose love here. In this way we simply, effortlessly remove the problem. Just the experience of this once may stop the self-harming thought ever coming into your mind again. I remember watching a movie once where an actor spoke some very upsetting ungodly words. Immediately, spontaneously with a very alert focused, determined mind I prayed to God to remove those thoughts from my mind. To this day, from that moment I cannot remember them even if I tried. However, if the self-harming thought comes again, repeat the effortless process.

When in a moment of insight this experience first happened to me, spontaneously and immediately, all fear of and resistance to the self-harm thought disappeared. The obsessive self-harming thought melted away. I was thrilled with this self insight, a moment of clarity, with a sense of wonder on how such a simple effortless switch in awareness, thinking and associated feeling could produce such an immediate transformation in my mind. I have tried to explain this as best I can, but only the direct and self experience of the effortless mental process would bring true self understanding and fulfilment. Understanding is one thing and direct experience is another. Both are important.

Repeatedly doing this simple mental technique using thought and its associated feeling whenever the instant the serious self-harming thought came into my mind has resulted in a cure. By which I mean the self harming thought no longer comes into my mind. The distress has gone. Mostly by far from the time of the first experience. The simple healing process may help with other similar psychoneurological conditions: the coprolalias, obsessive compulsive disorders, Tourettes for example, perhaps depending on causative factors. However, I do not like putting labels on symptoms and my experience is somewhat limited in such mind body or psychoneurological disorders. Perhaps this simple technique could possibly be used experientially in many mind-body disorders, and there may be variations of it already being used therapeutically. I cannot possibly be the only one to have subjectively discovered this simple mind-body healing process. The most natural insights can happen in an instant. Those who have made wonderful breakthroughs in life giving innovations for mankind will agree with that. Where there is a will there is a way. I am just expressing and writing about my experience. Not making any claims as to treatments and cures.

As said earlier, there are trillions of living cells in the human body. Every one of those cells knows what every other cell is doing. Communication of intelligence is instant. This is the unified field of creative intelligence at work. This is quantum mechanical functioning on the level of consciousness, intelligence. This is simplicity, innocence, love, God, the unified field, pure consciousness, pure awareness, the soul, samadhi, harmony, natural law, life, or whatever else you want to call it that indicates its nature, at work. A simple desire, this direction instead of that direction. A simple awareness of a thought and its associated feeling, a subtle tweaking, and this may change the biochemistry in the mind-body relationship from destructive to creative, from imbalance to balance, from suffering and strain in our present moment of experience to joy and effortlessness in our present moment of experience.

This is my experience. By repeating the healing, transforming thought awareness process over a few days whenever the need arose, which after the initial first experience was almost nil, I now consider myself cured. I hope others can replicate my healing experience and results from this simple, subtle, delicate, directed thought feeling technique. I do not presently have anything to add, although I may do so in the future. Perhaps if it works for you, you can share your experience. It is good to share. I thought I would put it all in words to you in the hope it will help you. I wish you well. Feel free to share it with others if you find it also works for you. God bless.

I choose love here. I choose love here. I choose love here.

David J

https://selfharmmindbodyhelp.jimdofree.com
http://selfharmmindbodyhelp.simplesite.com

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NOTE. For those adults and young people with thoughts of self-harming see your health practitioner as self-harm can be a sign of other disorders that you need help with such as depression or anxiety and other psychoneurological conditions including the coprolalias, Tourettes and OCD. Medical doctors can refer you to the right people for treatment including mental health services so you can have an assessment for the right treatment for you.

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Helpful websites:
Self-harm - Young Minds
https://youngminds.org.uk › find-help
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Offline bluebell.x

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Re: Self harm and you - your stories. Part 2 *posts may trigger*
« Reply #119 on: April 20, 2020, 11:27:01 PM »
Here goes nothing..

First time I self harmed I was 13. I remember what day it was and what I was wearing - I can't remember all the individual times i did it but this one always seems to stick out.

I never meant for it to become this big addiction, I thought I would do it a couple times then in a few weeks time I would do it again as a pick-me-up. At the time I had been in the closet as a bisexual for 2 years and it made me feel very lonely. I think that's what kicked off my depression. I also hated my body and everything about myself. I was obsessed about what people thought about me. It often makes me very angry, if the people that laughed at me knew the pain I'm going through and the pain they've caused me, would they take it all back? Anyway, I very quickly became addicted to self harm and the cuts rapidly got very deep. This period of self harm only lasted a week but I cut myself more than 10 times. My parents found out and sent me to councsling. I didn't open up to her, I wasn't comfortable talking about it, it was all so new and overwhelming, she also kept advising me to tell my friends but i was so scared of being judged, at the time me and my friends never talked about mental health.

So, a year went by and school started again in year 10 when I was 14. My depression and anxiety hadn't gone away but I hadn't cut myself since. When school started it really triggered me. The urges were so strong, I had to give into them. I cut myself regulary over a period of 6 weeks. It was awful. The cuts were so deep, I hated being alive, i had no where to turn to. I would sleep all day. My friend saw the cuts. She got her mum to tell my parents. It was horrible. I understand she was concerned about me but we had been friends for 10 years I thought she could have at least given me a heads up. We have still never spoken about it.

The week after my parents found out was the hardest. I had become so addicted to self harm I relied on it.I didn't know how else to cope. It was difficult my urges were so intense. I would spend all day thinking about ways to harm myself, and about ways to end my life. I managed to go a week clean, then two weeks. Eventually I was clean for 5 months (149 days to be exact). When I broke it I was so dissapointed by myself. I then cut myself two weeks after that, and then two more times in the next few weeks. I have managed to talk to some friends, some conversations go better than others. I always feel annoying when I open up.

I guess that brings me up to pretty much present day. I've asked my parents if i can go to therapy so currently waiting for lock down to be over. I've been trying to manage my suicidal thoughts, they have been very overpowering. I sometimes wonder if i could've been spared all this pain if the first time i cut myself, i just decided not to, who knows.

Although there is some good news I'm now out of the closet!  :yahoo:

Well done if you made it this far and thanks for reading :)