


One way to help yourself understand your self-harming behaviour is to keep a diary of what happens before, during and after each time you self-harm.

My favourite one was my Positivity Book, which is kind of like a scrap book filled with things which make me happy. It can be done when you feel the urge, or as soon as you become aware that you are hurting yourself. Try writing down what you notice about your urges, to help you spot them more quickly each time they come.ĭistracting yourself from the urge to self-harm is a way of giving yourself more breathing space and reducing the intensity of the urge. Recognising your urges helps you take steps towards reducing or stopping self-harm. unhealthy decisions, like working too hard to avoid feelings.repetitive thoughts about harming yourself, or how you might harm yourself.a disconnection from yourself or a loss of sensation.Urges can include physical sensations like: Did a situation, person or object remind you of something difficult?.Practise noting down what was happening just before you self-harmed: They can be people, situations, anniversaries, sensations, specific thoughts or feelings. 'Triggers' are what give you the urge to hurt yourself. Try breaking down your experience into the following: Learn to recognise triggers

This will enable you to better understand the next time you have similar feelings. Remember, even when you are unable to resist the urge to self-harm, it is helpful to reflect afterwards on what happened. If you don't have either available, he says using tape as a guide works too, but it can be uncomfortable to remove.Understanding your patterns of self-harm can help you to work out what gives you the urge to self-harm, and recognise when the urge is coming on. "Use a cheap makeup pencil or chalk to make the line and follow the clean line," he says. Louden also has a clever hack for a cleaner hairline. "Think like you are making a scoop motion this will help to blend from short to long." Then, once the sides are short enough, use the scissors to blend the top and sides, holding the hair at a 180-degree angle and cutting off the point. Her best technique tip: "As you move up the side of your head, make sure you pull back as you move up," Folino tells Allure. When you finish with your long attachment, take the next size down, going from the hairline up, but not as high as you did with the last guard." From there, after separating the top of the hair from the side, "Start from your hairline and work up the sides and back of the head. "You can always go shorter, but you cannot put it back," she says. Like Louden, Folino recommends starting with the longest guard that comes with your clipper.
