What Has Helped You To Stop Self-Harming?

    Living with self-harm can be draining. Recovery takes time, patience, and a lot of self-care. What are some of the things that have worked for you?

    Maggy van Eijk
    by Maggy van Eijk

    BuzzFeed Staff, UK

    If you self-harm, or have self-harmed in the past, you are definitely not alone.

    Flickr: maggyvaneijk

    Although it's hard to collect evidence of self-harm because most people keep it hidden, a study in the UK estimated that between 1 in 12 and 1 in 15 young people self-harm.

    The urge to self-harm doesn't just go away overnight.

    Rebecca Hendin

    Unfortunately it's not as easy as simply deciding to stop self-harming. While recognising you have a problem is a great first step, it can still be a struggle to break the habit.

    If you have recovered – or are in the process of recovering – from self-harm, you may have found that seeing a therapist was incredibly helpful.

    Disney

    Maybe they talked to you about distraction techniques or helped you identify why you were motivated to self-harm in the first place.

    Or perhaps you got a tattoo to remind yourself how strong you really are.

    Have you found that confiding in someone you trust helps?

    C4

    Maybe you've got a journal to track your thoughts, fears, dreams, and potential triggers?

    We want to know all about it! Email your story to SHrecovery@buzzfeed.com, and you might get featured in a BuzzFeed post.

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