Do we ever recover ..?
hi I’m Athena! I’ve been pondering this thought for awhile and wanted to share..is self harm recovery a lifetime thing like drug or alcohol? Or does it come down to once we’re better thats it, we’re cured? And considering the fact that literally anything (too hot of showers, smoking, picking your nails, etc) can be self harm, does anyone actually get better or do we just choose a more socially accepted form of it? Just some late night thoughts, I’d love to know what others think! (Hi I’m new here by the way lol)
@quickwittedStrawberries3141 Hi Athena!
The therapists I know (in real life, not here at 7 Cups) tell me that a good therapist can help you to discover the cause of your self harm and deal with the cause, so you don't need to self harm any more and you recover completely. (A bad therapist might maintain your self harm forever by teaching you "coping" strategies.)
Charlie
Charlie,
that’s such an interesting perspective. I have two therapists…one is digging into past trauma and helping me reframe it. I’m learning to accept it and all the feelings with the help of this therapist. The other has given me “alternatives/coping skills” to use instead of self harm and tells me to use them before self harm. The second says that using the alternatives will help form different ways of coping in my brain.
It can be.
I'm so glad to see that somebody shares my same thoughts when it comes to self harm & vices like cigarettes/ alcohol. I once compared self harm to a past therapist to a cigarette break. Essentially they are the same no? A cigarette to take "the edge off" or a little cut to release adrenaline, maybe to take your emotions out on yourself. I personally think that like any vice, as long as you are determined to be 'sober' you can definitely beat self harming as a means of coping with negative emotions, uncontrollable life circumstances, etc.
