[obelus]

Hey! First off, welcome to TeenHelp.

The first step is to realise that hey, this isn't right and I shouldn't be doing it. Then comes the harder, but completely possible, part of stopping. When I self harmed, if I was determined enough, I could self harm with almost anything even when I was in a secure hospital unit. For me, I had to realise that this was really hurting me. It was disfiguring my body and wasn't really helping when there are healthier options for me to use to cope with my emotions.

(This) thread lists a bunch of alternatives to self harm. It takes a lot of will power to stop self harming, to actually catch yourself in the moment when you want to self harm and do something different. (This) is a thread you can use to post your progress of how long you've gone without self harm even only if it has been one minute. I found both those threads really helpful when I was quitting. You can also check out the chat room or LiveHelp (if online) if you need someone to talk to to distract you from your self.

I understand not feeling normal when you don't self harm, that's because self harming has become your "normal." That just takes time to change and is possible to change. It takes awhile to feel like not self harming is normal, but it does happen.

Just give yourself time. Occupy yourself with other things and try to catch yourself before you self harm to do something different. You can do it! Just keep at it.

Oliver. x