Fighting Urges!!

[DannyBoi]

when urges come and self harm is all you want to do, what helps you occupy your mind/distract you?
recently ive been doing exercise to keep the urges away, it kinda works but i still end up awake most the night in deep thought.
different things obviously work for everyone, but it would be good to share ideas
ohh yeahh, ive just joined this forum in hope to use as another distraction and hopefully talking to people with similar issues will help

[SkaterDrew]

Hi.
I'm struggling with depression, but reaching out here helps me feel better, and it prevents me from thinking too much.
Surely our folks here would share ideas with you. I just hope we could be a big help for you.

[DannyBoi]

yeah man seem easier talking to people you dont personally know sometimes.
and lets hope so

[CrazyKiss]

I would say listening to music is a good distraction for me because it makes me feel better and I can relate to the lyrics everytime. There's lots of different kinds of music I like but I mostly like ones which are more get up and dance to.

There are other interests I like as well including reading books, drawing, socialising and going shopping. I usually do these things nearly everyday as a routine so not always a distraction. I enjoy all of these as they are just as therapeutic.

I do think the interests that I shared one of them maybe an interest to u like listening to music. It's about what u like doing and what will help for u. I do think these interests of mine are all good to do in ur daily life as they all can be done as a hobby or distraction.

I hope this can be useful for u even if u want take one of these up as a hobby or u want to do it as a distraction. Either way, this will be good for u mentally.

Remember talking to a friend is proberly something we can all do with if we feel low or sucidual.

[DannyBoi]

Some good ideas there i love music! always listen to different music depending what mood im in.
forgot about drawing i used to always draw as a kid! might try drawing again sometime soon thanks for the ideas!

[NickStokes]

Welcome to forum!

[specter]

I don't try to fight it. I either SH or the urge just slips away by itself.

I think it's important to face the emotions that are causing the urges to SH. In reality, there isn't always something we can do about those feelings -- something to change them immediately. Ignoring/changing focus is a way to escape those feelings. Finding the positive aspect within the negative aspect that caused those feelings, in my opinion, is a healthy way to change them in the long run.

The best thing that combats the urge to SH is the feeling of being loved. That usually instantly turns off my desire to SH. It's just that ... I can't seem to hold onto the feeling of being loved. I can't seem to hold onto that belief, so I hold onto the belief that I am unloved/unlovable instead. I'm not sure how to convince myself and hold onto the conviction that I am loved/lovable. It is the main cause for my bouts of depression.

[100footpole]

I think music is a great way to switch tracks when you feel a compulsion. For me, sometimes it was also a trigger.

I made a list of 25 of my albums (I'm that old ) and how they made me feel. I swore off the ones that made me feel bad for a month (put them in the back of the rack). I wrote paragraphs about the thoughts I had about the ones that made me feel good.

One thing that really worked for me was finding covers of songs that were positive for me. My favorite was Booker T and the MGs covering Beatles tunes. They were funky versions of classics with no words, when I remembered the words in my head I found the effect was even better than listening to the originals.

You might find a set of songs that really help you feel positive and then find karaoke versions of the songs ... create a positive play list!

Check to see if some music has a negative impact. I know that there are certain genres that I used to listen to that I can't stand now because they make me feel so negative.

[specter]

I made a list of 25 of my albums (I'm that old ) and how they made me feel. I swore off the ones that made me feel bad for a month (put them in the back of the rack). I wrote paragraphs about the thoughts I had about the ones that made me feel good.

Do you enjoy the album art of your favorite artists? The idea to attempt making a scrapbook with the album art of my favorite artist crossed my mind at one point. I have yet to try it, but I think the creativity boost, plus the enjoyment that you get out of the music itself is also a good stress reliever.

There was a lady on YouTube who makes soft-noise videos for relaxation. This person did some videos on her scrapbooks, which looked absolutely awesome. My idea to do this came mostly from her, plus the fact that I have a deep appreciation for the thought and the symbolism that was put into the artists' cover displays for their CD albums.

Hope I get around to it some day. It's very inspiring and I would love to post images of it online.