There are many myths about the lives of people that self-harm, however, recovering from self-harm is possible. Self-harm victims need to understand the triggers of such behavior and learn new and safe coping skills to help manage their powerful emotions. Seeing a competent mental professional is also essential. But, a simple act of documenting one’s experiences in a diary can be helpful with self-harm recovery.
Here is further insight into how recording your daily experiences and emotions in a diary can help you with self-harm:
Offers you the opportunity to speak your mind
You can use your diary to process your thoughts and feelings. All you need to do is write about the things happening in your life. You can discuss your daily experiences and how you feel about them. There is no limitation on how far you can go with the writing; you can write until you calm down and avoid self-harm.
You can write in a stream of consciousness when uncertain about your feelings
Sometimes you might be feeling a lot of pain, and it becomes difficult to say what is on your mind! It is okay to write in streams of consciousness: you do not have to make sense. It would be best to not worry about the sentence structure and punctuation; continue writing as vivid ideas pop up.
Helps you release negative emotions such as jealousy, anger, and sadness
You are probably experiencing many setbacks and conflicts that make it challenging to manage strong negative emotions. But a diary can help you process these emotions and plan the next step. You can rant and complain about the various things in your life.
It will also help if you write a letter to a person who hurt you but not have to send it. Writing will help you calm down and avoid self-harm. You will be able to relive your emotions on paper and select the right words to use when communicating with people.
You can track your moods daily to identify the triggers
Writing your mood in a diary helps you recognize the patterns that trigger self-harm. Record how you felt during the day, before or after the diary entry. Rate your mood using a numerical scale to identify what makes you feel happy or sad. Comparing your mood on different days can improve your mood and prevent you from self-harming your body.
A diary lets you reflect on your entries to understand your feelings
It is essential to read your diary entries, especially ones with similar experiences and moods. Use the opportunity to think about what you said and how you felt; use the feedback to make the right decision. You can also polish your thoughts to help you think differently about issues in future and avoid self-harm.
Getting Started
Self-harming is not limited to a certain age, gender or race; people from all walks of life can self-harm themselves. There are many unreported cases of self-harm because of the stigma that comes from the general public. But the fear of being judged and stigmatized should not block you from sharing your feelings and experiences. Get in touch today to get professional mental health treatment to help you with self-harm recovery.