Alternatives

Each Tuesday we've been focusing on alternatives.. I've written on alternatives to anger, and the use of ice. This week, a few suggestions on alternatives to the feeling of dissociation.

Harming yourself is not the only way to cope with your feelings. Here are some of the ideas other young people have come up with to find different ways of coping. Some may work for you! A lot depends on thinking about why you are self harming. People often harm themselves because they can find no other way to relieve a feeling of being overwhelmed by intense emotions.

Dissociation

Dissociation : Feeling so overwhelmed by everything going on around, you want to escape or distract yourself by making a louder metaphorical noise.

• Try squeezing ice or putting a hand in a mixture of water, salt and ice for a few seconds.
• Try putting a rubber band around a wrist then pinging it when you need to. I always have a band on my wrist...its become habit now, like biting my nails...lol.
• Try taking a cold/hot shower.
• Try biting into something like a lemon or a hot pepper. This Ive used, and wasabi.
• Try doing something creative like making a collage, write poetry, bake or paint.
• Try to focus on breathing. I count as I breathe, 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001 etc, in through nose, out through mouth.
• Try to play taxing games like tetris, minesweeper or snake.
• Try choosing an object in the room and describing it as you would to a blind person - its size, weight, colour etc. I sort of do this, but I say, 'Im in the lounge, sitting on a blue chair, my feet are on carpet, I can see a window etc'
• Try scribbling on paper. I do this free form, with no thought, just purging...
• Try being around people, perhaps playing games with a younger sibling, hugging someone or helping someone else.
• Try opening the dictionary in random places and learning new words, also try thinking in another language as you may have to simplify your thoughts. I wouldnt be able to focus enough for this one.
• Try creating a mental 'safe place'. I'm not good at this one but sometimes I combine it with my breathing exercises

Whatever my trigger, I remember the feeling of being overwhelmed, and chanting in my head 'This is not fucking real' over and over, the trick was for me to learn the feeling, sounds easy eh! but to identify it and in the early days just to focus on the word 'Stay'

[taken from Icet.org]