7 Self-Harm Alternatives to Prevent Injury

Discover seven self-harm alternatives to cope with stress and emotions, and find healthier ways to manage your mental well-being in this quick guide.
Discovering effective self-harm alternatives can be a lifeline for those struggling with the urge to self-injure. These alternatives play a crucial role in providing healthier coping mechanisms, helping individuals manage intense emotions without causing physical harm.
Understanding and implementing these alternatives can pave the way for a more positive and healthy approach to dealing with emotional distress. Explore our seven alternatives to self-harm, and if you or a loved one are in need of compassionate mental health care, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Why Do People Indulge in Self-Harm?
People indulge in self-harm for various complex reasons, often as a way to cope with overwhelming emotions or psychological distress. Here are some common reasons why individuals might engage in self-harm:
Emotional Regulation: Self-harm can serve as a way to manage intense emotions such as sadness, anger, or anxiety. It provides a temporary relief from emotional pain.
Feeling of Control: For some, self-harm is a method to regain a sense of control over their bodies and lives, especially when they feel powerless in other areas.
Physical Manifestation of Pain: Individuals who feel emotionally numb may use self-harm to experience physical pain, which can make them feel more alive and connected to their emotions.
Self-Punishment: Those with low self-esteem or feelings of guilt may use self-harm as a form of self-punishment, believing they deserve to suffer.
Distraction: Self-harm can act as a distraction from intrusive thoughts or traumatic memories, providing a temporary escape from mental anguish.
Understanding these underlying reasons is crucial for addressing self-harm behaviors, as well as offering effective treatment and support.
Self-Harm Alternatives to Consider
Even if you realize self-harm is not a good coping strategy and wish to quit, it might be challenging to consider any other option during a stressful situation. We fully understand. However, certain alternatives may allow you to release stress in a way that does no physical harm. Below are seven strategies to help you get through your next difficult experience, and some advice for when you're most overwhelmed.
1. Determine Your Feelings and The Significance of Self-Harm
Try and take some time to ask yourself why you want to self-harm. Getting a better understanding of what is happening behind the urge to act can lead to a different strategy to cope.
Feeling isolated, ignored, or lonely? Connecting with others who want to see you succeed mentally and physically may help alleviate both emptiness and the impulse to harm oneself.
Feeling angry? Engaging in physical activity may aid in the release of these powerful feelings.
Feeling numb? Tasks that provide pleasurable bodily sensations, such as showering or bathing, eating favorite food items, or being outdoors and unwinding, could be beneficial.
2. Get Outside and Unwind
Getting a change of environment can be of great use as it may take your mind off self-injury and provide you with enough time disconnected from self-harm techniques and tools to allow the impulse to pass before your return. Time spent in nature may also be relaxing, so you can try simple visits and activities like:
Visiting a favorite spot that makes you feel relaxed and at ease
Going to a park nearby
Strolling around your area
Beginning slowly and then progressing in small yet impactful steps is fine. If you’re unsure whether to go outside, try sitting beside an open window to feel the hug of fresh air. Any form of physical activity could offer a diversion that assists in lifting a low mood and calms down some of the intense pressure of overpowering thoughts. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), many individuals who self-injure claim to use exercise or sports to help resist the urge.
Going to the gym or working out at home may not be the most desirable alternative, but there’s absolutely no hurry to force yourself to work out. Rather, try out a low-key, simple exercise or activity that does not need equipment or a lot of strength:
Do basic stretches and exercises while watching your favorite web series or listening to your favorite music.
Try out a simple yoga or dance routine. (You can also find videos on YouTube for free)
Get outside, take a short walk, or start jogging. You might feel a little light.
If you are a pet parent or have a pet animal, take them for a walk. And, if you do not have a pet, try to talk to a friend who does and take their pet for a walk.
Being away from home and in crowded places can also be stressful at times, but the constant commotion and activity of fellow humans can create a sense of belonging and protection, making you less lonely and alone. Being with others can provide an escape that reduces the impulse to self-harm, as stated by an article by NCBI. You can easily consider the options mentioned below to spend time outdoors:
Journal your thoughts and feelings, or listen to music outdoors.
Visit a library, museum, bookshop, music store, or any other place that you have a connection to or enjoy.
Invite your friends or roommates to binge-watch a TV show or watch a movie.
Enjoy a cup of coffee, a snack, or a meal in an outdoorsy spot or other recreational location.
3. Confide in a Friend or a Loved One
Emotional assistance from loved ones and friends can be quite beneficial when you feel self-harm. Speaking up about how you're feeling isn't always simple. Still, it frequently helps to begin the conversation with a close one you trust to let you confine yourself without judgment.
4. Listen To Your Favorite Music and Audiobooks
If you're having trouble resisting the desire to self-injure, putting on some of your favorite tunes can buy you time to think about what's bothering you and how to deal with it in a healthier way. However, the tunes you choose make a difference. When you're feeling down, anxious, or lonely, you may find that listening to music that reflects that emotion helps.
In some cases, this can work to your benefit. For instance, listening to nostalgic or sad music can help you cope with your grief after losing a partner or a friend. But listening to music that matches your state of mind may not necessarily bring you relief. According to NCBI, sadder music may even make you feel more depressed if you presently feel that way.
Lively or invigorating music, such as feel-good or workout playlists
Music that is calming or relaxing (your particular preferences may include New Age music, spa and meditation music, or Celtic music)
Sounds of nature
5. Try Out Guided Visualization
Meditation is frequently suggested as a method of handling unpleasant or upsetting thoughts. However, not everyone benefits from meditation all the time. It may even amplify some thoughts, such as the desire to self-injure if you already feel down. A potential alternate strategy is guided visualization.
By visualizing relaxing scenes in your head, this method of relaxation aids in helping you establish a mental "happy place." Including vivid, precise sensory information in your mental image can aid in stress relief, distracting you from thoughts of self-harm and fostering emotions of peace and tranquility. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Close your eyes while you comfortably sit or lie down.
Take several long breaths. Breathe deeply and consistently until you're experiencing your body starting to relax.
Imagine a location that makes you feel peaceful, content, joyful, or relaxed, whether you have been to or would like to visit.
Start enhancing the scene with details. To bring your envisioned environment to life, use different senses. Perhaps you hear birds, running water, or leaves crunching beneath your feet. You may detect the aroma of baking bread, wildflowers, and grass. You might feel the wind on your face or the warm ground beneath your feet.
Carry yourself mentally through the situation. You can picture yourself strolling down a route or trail or just taking in everything around you. Breathe gently, concentrate on every aspect, and let your imagined space fill your thoughts.
Every time you take a breath, picture yourself soaking up the serenity and peace of your image. When you exhale, visualize anxiety and anguish leaving your body and the air.
Remind yourself that you can return to this situation at any time. Additionally, you can "unveil" new parts of your visual picture and add more elements. You can dive into the refreshing lake and swim to relax in the cold water. Or the crust of the bread is crisp and buttery when it's straight out of the oven.
6. Create Something Original (Art Therapy)
You can express your emotions through any creative endeavor, including painting, doodling, drawing, and even shaping clay. Art provides a different means of expression. Not only does art aid in the processing of complex feelings. You might experience what's known as a flow state when you fully focus on a creative activity that makes use of all of your abilities. Other emotions, such as hunger, fatigue, pain, anxiety, and distress, tend to diminish and vanish while one is in an emotional state of flow. Additionally, flow experiences can increase happiness, pleasure, and other uplifting emotions.
When you are in pain or distressed, it could be difficult to begin with, but there is no harm in doing so. Grab a paper and a pencil, or use whatever medium you like, and begin doodling. Even this straightforward, uninspired method can provide some respite and diversion. Here are a few more suggestions:
Sculpt or draw something that offers a sense of protection or safety
Illustrate your pain and give it a shape
Picture a happy place and draw it on paper
7. Using Harm-Reduction Tactics
Mental health doctors and other medical professionals frequently recommend damage mitigation tactics and grounding practices as an alternative to self-injury. These strategies may work for certain individuals, while evidence indicates that they are mostly ineffective for others.
When these measures fail to ease the urge, you may become more confident that additional coping approaches will similarly fail. Consequently, you may be less motivated to try strategies for coping that may help you overcome your desire to self-harm.
Remember that alternative tactics, such as those mentioned above, may be even more effective. Just because one or two strategies don’t work doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Here are some additional tactics to consider and put into practice:
Putting rubber bands around your wrist and snapping them when feeling restless
Stress ball squeezing
Yelling into a pillow
Punching a cushion or pillow
Putting your hands in hot or cold water
Holding ice
Consuming spicy or sour candy
Scribbling or drawing red lines over your skin
Are You Struggling with Mental Health or Addiction?
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Struggling with Self-Harm? We're Here to Help.
Understanding the reasons behind self-harm and exploring self-harm alternatives can significantly aid in managing emotional distress. Remember, if you struggle with self-harming thoughts and actions, you are not alone, and help is available.
At The Forge Recovery Center, we specialize in compassionate mental health treatment, offering a team of dedicated therapists and a range of evidence-based therapies. We urge you to call us today — our team is here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can work towards a healthier, happier future.
Are You Struggling with Mental Health or Addiction?
We Can Help. Call Us Now!
CALL: 877-839-1772