hey, i-it’s me again.. this probably won’t take too long but i just.. feel so hopeless and shitty… the old cuts are almost completely healed but i.. i’m scared for myself… i tried the grounding thing we talked about but it didn’t work… i’m sorry, i don’t know why i keep bothering you with this -late night anon

((It’s okay for you to reach out to me, I promise. Again, I’m very glad that you did.

Grounding does take practice sometimes – you do need to get into a sort of routine and focus on it. Don’t be disappointed in yourself though for not knowing exactly how difficult it could be. Please keep trying it and looking at things around you, even when you’re not upset. Try to teach your eyes how to look over patterns and travel through them for as long as possible.

And like I said, use ice instead of anything else that’s harmful. The things that you use for when you want to hurt yourself, put them someplace difficult to get to – like maybe on top of the refrigerator or out in the garage or something. Someplace that takes effort to get to. If you have to stop shaving for a while, then stop.

You can also get a notebook and try writing down your feelings to focus your energy on something else as well – it takes work to write. And if you can’t get all the words out, that’s okay. getting tired of writing can get you too tired to do something bad to yourself.

You said you were scared for yourself. If you’re still in school, I highly suggest going to the school counselor or resource officer. Or finding someone you look up to and trust. I know this is hard, but if you’re scared for yourself you need to let someone know. If you can’t talk to them directly, write it down in a letter and go hand it to them and make sure they know it’s from you. Also make sure it’s very important that they read it – preferably while you’re there with them. I know that you know you need help, because you’re talking to me.

Here’s a link I found by the way. It’s kind of a heavy read because there’s so much information, but focus on the stuff that relate to you. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/cutting-and-self-harm.htm

I also urge you to look over the resources and save them in your phone. It might seem silly when you’re not in crisis mode, but you should have them available when you need them.

Keep trying – I know you can do it! Take care of yourself as best as you can, and get help from someone. I’m not saying that because I don’t want to help you, by the way; I’m saying that because there’s only so much I can help you with in the position I’m in.

Talk to me whenever you want. THe askbox is always open!