Take a step back and try to understand the real reason for your self-harming behaviors. Are you cutting to reduce stress or escape painful emotions? Are you cutting to as a way to feel in control of a part of your life? Was there a traumatic experience in your life that lead you to begin engaging in self-harming behaviors? Understanding the catalyst to your cutting behaviors will give you a launch pad to begin your healing. Once you have established the root of your cutting behaviors, you must access your feelings and learn how your feelings are connected to your cutting. Do not hide your emotions or bottle them up. Express what you are feeling as they occur. Try writing them down or talking to someone about your feelings.  Recognize that your feelings directly impact your actions. If you are feeling exceptionally sad, the urge to cut may become stronger. By acknowledging that you are sad, you will anticipate your urges and begin to become more aware of the patterns of your self-harm behavior. Acknowledge your feeling by saying phrases like “I am feeling ____” and, “I accept that I am feeling___.” Triggers are people, places, or events that provoke your cutting behaviors. Triggers vary by person, and you must understand your specific triggers to better handle your cutting behaviors. Deciphering your specific triggers may help you more readily understand what is causing your cutting behaviors.  Write down events and feelings leading up to each time you cut yourself. Look for patterns and similarities to better understand your specific triggers. You will know you have been "triggered" when your emotions surge and become intense and out of proportion following the event that triggered you. Do you enter a quiet room and lay out your cutting tools or listen to a specific song before each cutting event? You likely have ritualized and sometimes unconscious behaviors you do surrounding your self-harm behavior. Become aware of these will help you notice when you are going to cut.  Engage in mindfulness exercises to bring your unconscious "rituals" to the conscious. Take explicit notes on each action you engage in. For example, “I am going into my room. I am closing the door. I am rolling up my sleeves.” These thoughts will interrupt your rituals and make yourself more aware. Practice being mindful by going to a quiet room and noticing your posture, where your arms hang, the temperature and smell of the room, etc… Keep practicing this and soon, you will be able to become aware of your cutting rituals. Visualize how your life would be if you didn’t cut. Do you think you would feel more fulfilled or could you do certain things that your cutting is holding you back from? Think about the future repercussions of your cutting behaviors such as your children asking about the scars on your arms, or jobs you might miss out on. Visualizing your life without cutting should help motivate you to end the behavior. Further motivate yourself by telling yourself that you can stop and you will stop.

Summary:
Decipher the root of your cutting behavior. Get in touch with your feelings. Identify your triggers. Understand your cutting rituals. Imagine your life without cutting.