I learned a few coping techniques from the therapy that I'm in now, one of them is called the stop skill, it can be quite difficult because you have to just stop and sit with the uncomfortable feeling and wait for it to go, the other which I find very helpful now is mindfulness, concentrate on your surroundings, the noises you hear, how the ground feels beneath your feet, the smells etc, I'm sure you could find a guided mindfulness meditation on youtube.

Okay thank you

Hello there!

There is a wealth of knowledge out there when it comes to 'what to do instead of cutting', in my opinion it's all up to what you'd like to do.
There's a list of self soothing activities you can find online to help cope with anxiety and you can also make your own list!
I'm 27 now, I cut after I lost my mom at 15 and became homeless. I cut throughout college, and whenever I was at my worst. For me it was about baby stepping it, when I was upset enough to cut, I practiced DBT exercises to try and figure out where the feeling was coming from and what I was going to do about it instead of self harming.
When I'm really down, now that I've had enough practice and I am more familiar with handling my moods and emotions, I go take a bath with my favorite scents and let my body relax and be comfortable and in the moment, or I ride my bike and push myself so that all that nervous and anxious behavior is less likely to come out, or I go swim, treat myself to a nice snack, go for a drive with the windows down. Find what makes you happy when you're happy and when you're down, now you know what makes you happy, so try to get back to that state of mind.
I hope you feel better, all in time. Be patient and love yourself, even if you cut--don't put yourself down for it, that's important!! Just keep moving forward and at some point the time between self harming is going to be farther and farther apart. Be proud of the steps you take, no matter how tiny.

Thank you dontryme

I used to cut daily sometimes several times a day. I havn't cut for 3 years. I still get urges and get scared I'm gunna relapse but I know that I am strong and so r u! Dolphin xx

Do y'all have any suggestions on how I can help my daughter who is cutting? I've taken her to so many therapists and nothing seems to help. I've taken away all social media from her phone. I feel like all I do is take away. But when I give her back things, i.e., internet, she just looks up different methods of self-harm on the internet. I know my reaction should not be what it has been, but when I have walked in on her and I see her sitting in her closet with blood on her and razors around her, it just breaks my heart for her and I get frustrated because I don't understand this behavior. Is there anything you can suggest? We actually have an appointment Monday with a DBT therapist. My daughter is 14.