When distractions don't work, what else can I try to prevent self-harm?

A unique technique that you can try, is to instead of self harm, draw lots of pictures such as butterflies where you intended to self harm. As those pictures gradually fade; so do your scratches/scars. Think of it as setting the butterfly free.

Take a red pen and mark wherever you want to hurt yourself and if you want to do it again, draw another line. Draw something pretty where you want to hurt youself, if you hurt yourself, then you'd destroy the pretty thing you drew. Squeeze a piece of ice until the urge stops, or rub the ice over the place you want to hurt yourself. Go to a public place, where if you hurt yourself, people will know. Wait it out- the urge will stop eventually, say to yourself "I'll hurt myself in 15 minutes if I still want to" then after 15 minutes, repeat until the urge stops. Punch a pillow, rip up paper, and/or scream, exc. Any of those might work. Stay strong!

Saying 'no' to self-harm can be tough. Sometimes, it's easier to say, 'later' instead. For example, 'If I still feel like self-harming at the end of the day, then it's okay.' Set a time-frame that's challenging, but achievable. Depending on the intensity and frequency of your self-harming, it might be an hour, half an hour, or even five minutes. Another option is to write a to-do list, which you promise yourself you'll complete before you'll self-harm. Again, this should be challenging, but achievable. Your list might include things like: walk around the block, phone a friend, read a chapter of a book, or listen to a song. It helps to make the list as specific as possible. Even if you still end up self-harming, delaying for a bit longer each time is a worthy step on the road to recovery.

Calm your self and tried to stay away from things or materials that can harm you. If you can't, ask you best friend or someone you trust to help you with that

The driving force behind most self-harm is the feeling of an instant release. Self-harm creates an immediate, intense, flooding sense of calm/release. Most distractions are just that, distractions. While they are good to use, absolutely, the problem comes from not actually learning an appropriate response to the emotional triggers for your self-harm urges. A simple method to working through urges is this: just wait. Wait. Wait. Wait it out. Wait 24 hours after you have the urge to harm yourself. In that time frame think to yourself 'What brought me here? Why do I want to harm myself? If I do harm myself, how is that going to help me deal with the trigger? What is the trigger? In the next 24 hours what can I do to learn from this experience and build a stronger, more appropriate, coping strategy?' Sometimes people harm themselves after they have been hurt by someone they care about, kind of like 'You hurt me, so I'll hurt me too' or 'You hurt me, I'll hurt me but it's your fault. By hurting myself I am really hurting you'. The person who causes you hurt, chances are, they never actually see your scars or your pain, and are unaware of how they hurt you. If you are in this situation think of this; After you have been hurt by someone, how does you hurting yourself make it better? Chances are your answer will be 'It doesn't'. To prevent self-harm: identify your triggers, what brought you to that point. Work on building a strong, positive, healthy coping strategy. Don't hesitate to ask for help!

Try finding a reason not to. A motivation. I made a promise to someone I love, someone I will never break a promise to. They became my motivation to never hurt myself. When I hurt myself I hurt them too, and I never want them to be in pain.

Sometimes it helps to put yourself in a room with other people. If you're surrounded by others, your mood has a tendency to approve and you're much less likely to go through the trouble of coming up with an excuse to leave and self harm. Being around your family and friends is also a really good reminder that you're cared for and important to so many people!

Keep out of sight things oh could use. If you feel like self harming call or message someone instead of doing it.

Color in a coloring book. Draw pictures. Draw with a red marker over the places you would usually harm. Play music and dance. Scream. Go for a run. Play with animals. Clean. These are things that worked for me. I hope they work for you too.

Try talking to someone you trust about it. If you`ve promised to hold back to someone else, it is harder to fail.