50 things you could do instead of giving into unhealthy thoughts!

I found a couple great lists a while ago about alternatives to self harm that are sorted based on the emotion you're feeling, and I think they're pretty applicable here! If you want to check them out, they're here and here, and a few examples:

Alternatives for when youre feeling angry or restless:

Have a pillow fight with the wall

Scream very loudly

Tear apart newspapers, photos, or magazines

Scribble on a piece of paper until the whole page is black

Write your feelings on paper then rip it up

Throw ice cubes at the bathtub wall, at a tree, etc

Alternatives that will distract you or take up time:

Say Ill XXX in fifteen minutes if I still want to and keep going for periods of fifteen minutes until the urge fades

Complete something youve been putting off

Count up to 500 or 1000

Make as many words out of your full name as possible

Count ceiling tiles or lights

Call up an old friend

Write out lyrics to your favorite song

Do a crossword

Browse the forums

Learn to swear in another language

Pick a subject and research it on the web - alternatively, pick something to research and then keep clicking on links, trying to get as far away from the original topic as you can.

Alternatives for when youre feeling guilty, sad, or lonely:

Congratulate yourself on each minute you go without XXX

Draw or paint

Call a friend and ask for company

Buy a cuddly toy

Remember a happy moment and relive it for a while in your head

Try to imagine the future and plan things you want to do

Look at things that are special to you

Compliment someone else

Let yourself cry

Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles

Curl up under a comforter with hot cocoa and a good book

Make affirmation tapes inside you that are good, kind, gentle (Sometimes you can do this by writing down the negative thoughts and then physically re-writing them into positive messages)

See, hear and feel-5 things, then 4, then 3 and countdown to one which will make you focus on your surroundings and will calm you down

Get your friends to make you friendship bracelets: wear them around your wrists to remind you of them when you want to XXX

Alternatives to help you sort through your feelings:

Phone a friend and talk to them

Make a collage of how you feel

Negotiate with yourself

Free write (Write down whatever youre thinking at that moment, even if it doesnt make sense)

Make a notebook of song lyrics that you relate to

Write a letter to someone telling them how you feel (but you dont have to send it if you decide not to)

Start a grateful journal where everyday you write down three: good things that happened/ things that you accomplished/ are grateful for/ made you smile. Make sure the journal is strictly for positive things. Then when you feel down you can go back and look at it.