Activities to Distract from Self Injury
The main way people help themselves when they want to self-harm is through distraction.
Different distractions work for different people, and the same distraction won’t necessarily work for you every time. For example, distracting yourself from anger feels very different to distracting yourself from fear, so it’s important that you have a few different strategies to choose from.
The following are simply suggestions. See if you can write your own list of distractions that you’ve found helpful or that you would like to try out.
If you’re feeling anger and frustration
Here are some distractions you could try:
- exercise
- hit cushions
- shout and dance
- shake
- tear something up into hundreds of pieces
- go for a run.
Expressing your anger physically, or by doing things like shouting, won’t work for everyone and could intensify feelings. Try things out and continue with any that have a positive effect.
If you’re feeling sadness and fear
Here are some distractions you could try:
- wrap a blanket around you
- spend time with an animal
- walk in nature
- let yourself cry or sleep
- listen to soothing music
- tell someone how you feel
- massage your hands
- lie in a comfortable position and breathe in – then breathe out slowly, making your out-breath longer than your in-breath. Repeat until you feel more relaxed
If you’re feeling a need to control
Here are some distractions you could try:
write lists
tidy up
declutter
write a letter saying everything you are feeling, then tear it up
weed a garden
clench then relax all your muscles
If you’re feeling numb and disconnected
Here are some distractions you could try:
1) flick elastic bands on your wrists
2) hold ice cubes
3) smell something with strong odour
4) have a very cold shower.
If you’re feeling shame
Here are some distractions you could try:
1) stop spending time with anyone who treats you unkindly
2) recognise when you are trying to be perfect and accept that making mistakes is part of being human
3) remind yourself that there are reasons for how you behave – it is not because you are ‘bad’.
If you’re feeling self-hatred and wanting to punish yourself
Here are some distractions you could try:
1) write a letter from the part of you that feels the self-hatred, then write back with as much compassion and acceptance as you can
2) find creative ways to express the self-hatred, through writing songs or poetry, drawing, movement or singing
3) do physical exercise (like running or going to the gym) to express the anger that is turned in on yourself.
