you provide suicide information, but would you provide self-harm information?

[Insomniac]

If you feel it's okay to provide suicide info or links, is it okay to "help" with self-harm as well

 

[rationaltake]

I really don't know. Interesting point.

 

[Rayzieka]

Maybe some might feel more comfortable with giving ctb information because its an end to suffering instead of a temporary solution that causes more harm than good for the person suffering.

 

[bed]

Depends I guess. Self-harm can be risky because it can lead to death if you aren't careful or fuck up and if your reason to SH is to cope instead of to die, I wouldn't really feel as comfortable giving that information.

I use to SH a lot by cutting, now the only thing I really do to SH is partial hanging since I know the risk of me dying is quite low, but I wouldn't mind if I CTB that way. I just like how it makes me feel in the moment, besides the headache I usually get afterward.

Interesting thread.

 

[nameeater]

interesting question!

i think the only circumstances i would give self harm "advice" was if they were doing it in an a way that would make things worse (as self harm is just a coping mechanism). for example, telling them to use a clean and sharp blade if they're cutting themselves to avoid infections.

telling someone to stop self harming is unlikely to do anything so it's best to at least make sure they're doing it in a way with reduced risk, the same goes for ctb.

 

[senti-mental]

i think its important for people who use self harm to cope to be able to access information on how to avoid infection or permanent damage.

 

[Insomniac]

its an end to suffering instead of a temporary solution that causes more harm than good for the person suffering.

I self-harm a lot. If I didn't, I'd either have to
1. do hard drugs
2. Physically hurt the people who trigger me. Self harming makes me redirect my violence at myself and stay away from jail sometimes.
3. Break valuable things. Breaking valuable/expensive (a TV or a phone, a laptop or igniting a fire to burn a place down) objects also helps me calm myself when I'm going through a crisis. At the rate of my crisis, I'd be ruined quickly.
4. Suicide.

which one of these options is better? I chose self-harm. It's bad but in my opinion, not as bad as option 2 and 3.

 

[Rayzieka]

I self-harm a lot. If I didn't, I'd either have to
1. do hard drugs
2. Physically hurt the people who trigger me. Self harming makes me redirect my violence at myself and stay away from jail sometimes.
3. Break valuable things. Breaking valuable/expensive (a TV or a phone, a laptop or igniting a fire to burn a place down) objects also helps me calm myself when I'm going through a crisis. At the rate of my crisis, I'd be ruined quickly.
4. Suicide.

which one of these options is better? I chose self-harm. It's bad but in my opinion, not as bad as option 2 and 3.

I didn't mean I believed that way. If there was a article on different ways to harm myself without leaving scars I would likely be all over it when destructive.

 

[I-can-only-imagine]

see this maybe conflicting opinion and i AM NOT SAYING IT IS RIGHT, just that this is how i sometimes feel. i self-harmed for 5 years as a teenager, managed to go 15(ish) years clean with only the very rare slip up. And now i have been doing it for over a year all over again. When i see some peoples scars, i get triggered. i want to know how they managed to cut so deep and so well, what they used. I agree mostly with never providing this information. there is just that smidge of me that would love to know. if we can provide sources for CTB then as a counter-argument, why can people not share their own experiences. i dont know. I agree 99% with not providing evidence. it is just that 1% of me being selfish that wished i could know. maybe it is just me and my shitty self that prevents me from doing worse harm to myself. its just hard as sometimes i dont feel what i do reflects how i feel or justifies me doing this. it looks like pathetic attempts in my mind. Anyway. have had alcohol so maybe i am being too transparent writing this.

 

[rationaltake]

see this maybe conflicting opinion and i AM NOT SAYING IT IS RIGHT, just that this is how i sometimes feel. i self-harmed for 5 years as a teenager, managed to go 15(ish) years clean with only the very rare slip up. And now i have been doing it for over a year all over again. When i see some peoples scars, i get triggered. i want to know how they managed to cut so deep and so well, what they used. I agree mostly with never providing this information. there is just that smidge of me that would love to know. if we can provide sources for CTB then as a counter-argument, why can people not share their own experiences. i dont know. I agree 99% with not providing evidence. it is just that 1% of me being selfish that wished i could know. maybe it is just me and my shitty self that prevents me from doing worse harm to myself. its just hard as sometimes i dont feel what i do reflects how i feel or justifies me doing this. it looks like pathetic attempts in my mind. Anyway. have had alcohol so maybe i am being too transparent writing this.

Thanks for explaining. This is so difficult.

 

[FentIsMyWay]

Atleast in my opinion, yes its okay to help with SH. As in giving advice on how to make it safer with wound care, directions on where to cut to minimise the risk of hitting a nerve/arteries or with alternatives or distractions.
Atleast in my case the guide on r/madeofstyrofoam most likely helped me not get infections + make the healing of some nasty cuts easier.

 

[Manaaja]

The best way to self-harm is to spend one second with my narcissistic retarded "parents". I'm not joking, I'm serious.

I self harm by punching myself, pinching myself, hitting my head, and biting my arms. Sometimes I go to youtube and listen to this world's worst songs/sounds ever made for 5 seconds. That usually clears my head.

 

[myopybyproxy]

Depends on the person's intent - if they want to minimise the risks of infection for instance, or accidental death or severe injury - harm reduction is a good thing in any case. If they wanted to know how to make more prominent scars etc - that is something I would rather not share. But it can be inferred by doing the opposite of harm reduction - just the way people here use water safety as instructions on drowning - so no need for me to give explicit directions 'how to self harm'.

Also an important distinction - as another person mentioned - self harm is a dysfunctional way of coping that may lead to further physical / social problems whereas suicide ends all one's problems once and for all.

 

[Toonloon]

I would give advice on self harm.
Buy skin products that are skin lighnters. Or mix lemon juice with lotion on healed wounds that are dark.

You can buy skin lighnter products in most stores. They would be in ethnic beauty section. Like for Asians, Blacks, Latina,ect skin care.

The bottle would actually say brightening cream but you just put on the scar regularly it will fade gradually over time as long as not too deep.

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

Self-harm without any permanent injury or markings seem easy to come up with. HIIT, cold water, sitting still for long periods of time on floor, etc. Everything in moderation, too. Guess it doesn't have the desired psychological effect, maybe?

 

[Insomniac]

Self-harm without any permanent injury or markings seem easy to come up with. HIIT, cold water, sitting still for long periods of time on floor, etc. Everything in moderation, too. Guess it doesn't have the desired psychological effect, maybe?

200 IQ ngl

I'm gonna start doing all these

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

200 IQ ngl

I'm gonna start doing all these

Forcing yourself to eat healthy but disgusting meals as well, maybe?

 

[LingeringUnreal]

One self harm alternative I got really into (because I still have cutting scars 15 years after the last time I cut) is snapping a rubber band against my wrist. To most people it seems like a nervous tic, but you can get some decent sized non-permanent welts from just doing that. Right part of the body to simulate it too.

 

[Someone123]

If you feel it's okay to provide suicide info or links, is it okay to "help" with self-harm as well

It is a free country and people can discuss a subject like suicide, though it is important t not push people to ctb, that is true. But let's say a person is considering two methods- train or sn, and they wonder which has the worst downside if the attempt doesn't work. Then you let them know that based on many posts typically peope are not damaged by sn, though of course it could happen if they are close to ctb when they are rescued, but with a train method about 1/3 of people survive, often with missing limbs and/or brain injuries and/or other severe injuries. So "giving information" about suicide is not an inherently bad thing- it just depends on what is communicated. The purpose of ctb is to stop pain, in many cases pain that is all day every day for many months of even for years. The purpose of ctb is not to harm but to get relief from pain. So giving info about self-harm that is not ctb is not really a related thing for most people here and I think most people here would not want that for themselves or anyone else- relief form serious long-term pain makes sense to a lot of people; inflicting more pain does not.

 

[Insomniac]

Forcing yourself to eat healthy but disgusting meals as well, maybe?

this is how psychologists should reason with us lmao

inflicting more pain does not.

I self-harm a lot. If I didn't, I'd either have to
1. do hard drugs
2. Physically hurt the people who trigger me. Self harming makes me redirect my violence at myself and stay away from jail sometimes.
3. Break valuable things. Breaking valuable/expensive (a TV or a phone, a laptop or igniting a fire to burn a place down) objects also helps me calm myself when I'm going through a crisis. At the rate of my crisis, I'd be ruined quickly.
4. Suicide.

which one of these options is better? I chose self-harm. It's bad but in my opinion, not as bad as option 2 and 3.

so you're openly saying that suicide is wiser than self-harm? bold opinion

 

[DanWhoLikesPie]

I'd take the same approach as with drugs/drinking and think about harm reduction (avoiding unintended/unwanted consequences). It's really the same principle as talking about ctb, too. I'm not gonna encourage someone to do it, but I'd rather they're successful and peaceful than fail and turn themselves into a vegetable.