If you want to see blood:
Wet the end of a somewhat soft (not crayola) colored pencil and use it on your skin. It works like the food coloring if you don’t have access to that, but also sort of “bleeds”, unlike markers.
Put red food coloring on your skin
Put red food coloring in some non-toxic glue. It looks like blood, and also hardens into “scabs”
Fatal To The Flesh website. Click and drag on your screen and blood appears.
If you want to feel a physical sensation:
Find some ice cubes or anything frozen solid and hold it to where you self harm to give you a numb-burning sensation. Hold it there as long as you can, or until it melts.
Snap a hair elastic or rubber band around your wrist.
Take a hot/cold shower.
Go to the gym, dance, exercise
Chew a piece of ginger root or a hot pepper.
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.)
Wax your legs/pluck your eyebrows.
Pour some candle wax onto yourself, but make sure you hold it up high enough so that the wax cools a bit before touching your skin. If it starts to feel like you’re burning yourself, stop immediately.
Temperature change. Dunk your head in ice water (known as the mamillian dive reflex, known to lower heart rates) or hold ice in your hand.
Intense exercise. Try not to go too far with this one. Do ten jumping jacks, run a mile on the treadmill, or do 20 pushups. Just do it until you’re no longer triggered and no more than that.
Progressive muscle relaxation. Tense and relax every muscle in your body one by one. Tense for 10 seconds, take deep breaths, then release.
The self-soothe kit is designed to calm you down whenever you’re upset or triggered. Put things in it that relax you. For example:
body lotion
body butter
lavender shae butter
a scrub
colored pencils
tea
Anything that relaxes you or helps calm you down goes in the kit, such as music, a hobby, art, or calming herbs such as lavender or chamomile. Whenever you’re triggered or upset, take a deep breath and try a few things in the kit.
if you want to see marks on your skin:
Take a red marker or soft felt tipped pen and draw lines where you would self harm
Put on henna, an Indian temporary tattoo-art found at most Indian stores.
Put on some temporary tattoos. Either buy a package of them and apply as instructed, or draw on yourself with a permanent marker and use hairspray to seal it. You can also find suggestions for how to make temporary tattoos here.
On a sketch or photo of yourself, mark in red ink what you want to do.
if you want to pick at your skin:
Put on nail polish, then peel it off.
Put Elmer’s liquid glue on your hands and then peel it off.
Pick at the vinyl liner on the underside of a bottle cap (instructions found here)
If you want a way to let out your emotions:
Pick a song that has meaning for you, and write the lyrics on yourself
Call a friend and talk
Throw an apple/pair of socks against the wall
Have a pillow fight with the wall
Viciously stab an orange
Scream very loudly
Tear apart newspapers, photos, or magazines
Write your feelings on paper then rip it up
Break sticks
The Calm Jar (Fill a mason jar or similar with colored water and glitter. When feeling upset or angry you can shake it to disturb the glitter and focus on that until the glitter settles.)
Cut up fruits
Allow yourself to cry; crying is a healthy release of emotion
Stomp around in heavy shoes
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)
Blow up a balloon and pop it
If you need a way to keep your mind busy:
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
Complete something you’ve been putting off
Take up a new hobby
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.
Alphabetize your CDs or books
Play computer games or painting programs, such as photoshop
Write out lyrics to your favorite song
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
Play the A-Z game (Pick a category ie. Animals, and think of an animal for every letter of the alphabet)
“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
Memorize a poem with meaning
Do school work
Learn to swear in another language
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.
If you need a way to keep your hands busy:
Get out a fine tooth comb and vigorously brush the fur of a stuffed animal
Make a soft cloth doll; cut and tear it instead of yourself
Flatten aluminium cans for recycling
Put on makeup
Do some knitting
Do some house hold chores
Bake
Make symmetrical art
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
If you just need something to do:
Build a fort of pillows and then destroy it
Throw ice cubes at the bathtub wall, at a tree, etc
Play handball or tennis
Look at funny websites
Scribble on photos of people in magazines
Look up recipes for desserts, get some ingredients, bake, then donate them what you made.
Paint your own nebula
Sleep
Tie a small string or a rope into knots.
Listen to music and sing along loudly
Beat up a stuffed bear
Pop bubble wrap
Pop balloons
Splatter paint
Enter the secret door
Do a random act of kindness
Go for a run
Color your hair
Count up to ten getting louder until you are screaming
Sing on the karaoke machine
Make a cup of tea
Tell and laugh at jokes
Play solitaire
Count up to 500 or 1000
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”
Play a musical instrument
Watch TV or a movie
Paint your nails
Cook
Make origami to occupy your hands
Doodle on sheets of paper
Dress up or try on old clothes
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
Look up words in a dictionary
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
Plan regular activities for your most difficult time of day
Finish homework before it’s due
Get out on your own, get away from the stress
Go on YouTube
Make a scrapbook
Colour in a picture or colouring book.
Make a phone list of people you can call for support. Allow yourself to use it.
Choose a random object, like a paper clip, and try to list 30 different uses for it
Take a small step towards a goal you have.
Re-organize your room
Make funny faces in a mirror
Put faces on apples, oranges, or other sorts of food
Color on the walls
Pull weeds in the garden
Look at the sky
Instead of punishing yourself by self harming, punish yourself by not self harming
Call a friend and ask for company
Put a face mask on
Watch a favorite TV show or movie
Remember a happy moment and relive it for a while in your head
Look at more cute things
Try to imagine the future and plan things you want to do
Look at things that are special to you
Compliment someone else
Watch fish
Play with a pet
Imagine yourself living in a perfect home and describe it in your mind
Light a candle and watch the flame (but please be careful)
Go chat in the chat room
Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles
Curl up under a comforter with hot cocoa and a good book
Make a tray of special treats and tuck yourself into bed with it and watch TV or read
Meditate or do yoga
Write, read, or listen to poetry
Do a “reality check list” – write down all the things you can list about where you are now (e.g. It is the 9th November 2004, I’m a room and everything is going to be alright)
Drink herbal tea
Give yourself permission to do something you don’t normally do (Keep it safe)
Think about how you don’t want scars
Treat yourself nicely
Create a safe place to go
Repeat to yourself “I don’t deserve to be hurt”
Try to discourage yourself from doing it by how you may feel afterwards.
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 a list of your positive character traits
Play Miniclip or Facebook games, like those escape the room ones, Candy Crush, Superhero Pizza, etc.
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