What are some alternatives to self-harm?

When I engaged in self-harm, it was an effort to change the way I felt. And of course there are much healthier ways to do this! I could do some challenging exercises, escape into the world of a great book or show, talk to another person, or get out of my own head by helping someone else.

Journaling, Exercise, reading, any activities that make you feel happy about yourself. Everyone is different. Find as many alternatives as you can.

Well, you can always do things that make you feel better. For instance, working out brings up your levels of serotonin, which inevitably brings you to a better mood. I think it is still important to find out what is causing you to self-harm in the first place and tackling that problem head on. That way, the problem disappears altogether!

Get an ice cube and run it over the place you're wanting to cut. It will give you the feeling of coolness and pain without really hurting you. You can also get a soft tip pen and draw on the place you want to cut. Scribble on it until the feeling subsides.

Snapping a rubber band around your list. Drawing a butterfly and if you self harm before the butterfly is washed away it dies.

The one I love, which is often advised by psychiatrists, is called the Butterfly Project. Originally, this meant that if you ever wanted to harm yourself then instead you just drew a butterfly in the spot you wanted to hurt (NOT in a biro or similar pen - they can hurt!) But its grown and expanded and now the advice is to draw on yourself - draw anything you want - wherever you want to harm. This can be as big as you want, so if you want to doodle over your entire stomach then do it! A lot of people like to leave all the ink on as a reminder not to do it, but if you want to hide it then you can just wash it off later.

A good place to start is journalism, writing down how you feel and what happened. If you feel like you cant control the urge, grab a marker to replace the object of harm. A hard workout can help, you still might feel pain, but this time it will be for the best.

Holding an ice cube on your skin, wearing an elastic band around your wrist and ping it at your wrist, taking either a hot shower or a cold bath, chewing on a piece of chilli/ginger root. That's all I could think of for now but I hope it's of some help!

Go on a walk, Read a book, Rearange your room. going on walks is peaceful reading is calming thanks.

i follow a lot of depressed accounts on social media because sometimes, looking at the pictures or posts i can somehow relate and it calms me down and most of the accounts are in recovery so they post sad pictures but then they say how much better they feel not cutting and are really supportive.