Two or three minutes of

aacomplete ridiculousness can be

a helpful distraction whilst you

,wait for you feelings to calm.

Anything that involves no

aathinking at all tends to work

best (I swear by cat videos…)

During a calmer time, pick out a

song that always lifts your mood.

When your feelings overcome

you try listening to your happy

song. It may lift your mood and

also act as a distraction whilst

your feelings become less intense.

Challenge yourself to wait 60

seconds – watch it tick down on

your phone. If you manage 60

seconds and the urge is still

there, try another 60 seconds…

5 distraction

strategies for

when you

have the urge

to self-harm

1 Count Down

When you feel

the urge to cut or

binge or burn or

whatever it might be you do to

relieve your feelings, sometimes distracting yourself

just long enough for the feelings to become less intense, can

help you to overcome the urge. It won’t work every time,

but every time it does is worth celebrating.

Here are some ideas to try…

Listen 2

3 Watch

Kids books work well… they are a

great distractor and if you can

reach the end of one you’ll

often find that the urge is

passing. (I recommend

reading rhythmical stories like

Julia Donaldson aloud..)

Read 4

Call a friend or chat online. You

adon’t have to talk about anything

aaheavy, just chat for a few

sssminutes whilst you calm down.

You can always call the

Samaritans or Childline too –

they always listen and never judge

5 Chat

Ideas all shared by

those in the same

boat

@PookyH

www.inourhands.com

Childline: 0800 1111 | Samaritans: 08457 90 90 90