It sometimes comes when you least expect it.  Other times… you can see it coming. 

It’s something we HAVE to deal with.  There’s no way around it.   

There’s no quick fix to overcome this… so we have to find a way to be more prepared to face the inevitable battle. 

SELF HARM QUOTES STUDY ON SELF HARM QUOTES MEANING WITH SELF HARM QUOTES MESSAGE

Let’s talk for a second about the times when we CAN expect temptation.  I noticed with myself that I was more tempted to self harm in the evening and/or when I was alone.  Now obviously I can’t be with someone 24/7 and the sun will set everyday so I WILL face the evening every day.  So… I had to learn to be prepared. 

I was blessed to have a friend I could call during the really hard times.  That won’t be the same story for all people.  When I started to struggle, I could call or email my friend AND BE BLUNT.  I couldn’t just beat around bush… I needed help and I needed help right that second.  I didn’t have time to slowly get into the fact I was struggling.  So I was upfront right away.  “Hi.  I’m struggling.  I want to cut.”  or “I want to take a pill”. 

Side note… 

This friend KNEW my struggles already.  I could trust them.  They said I could talk to them anytime about anything.  This is not a brand new friend that I’m just suddenly calling out of the blue saying “Wassup?  How are you?  Yeah, I want to cut.”  I do NOT recommend that.  I talked to this person and we both established that they could be “that” friend for me when I needed it.  Not all friends can handle stuff like this… but God does send angels to watch over us.  So examine people in your life and see if you can find that angel that can be there for you. 

Some teens might feel the hesitation to talk to an adult because they are scared they might have to “tell”.  But stop and think for a minute… in that moment of really strong temptation… could things get much worse?  You already want to self harm yourself… by telling someone, that can help you find the help you need.  Whether it be someone to talk to, a hug, a friend…  
 

Back to the story…

I would call my friend and they would … just talk to me.  Just be with me.   

BUT… the catch is…

I would call with every intention of NOT giving into my temptation.   

Think about that… It would be pointless to talk to someone if I had every intention of cutting when I hung up the phone.  No matter what they said to me, I was determined I was still going to self harm. 

No.  It doesn’t and CAN NOT work like that. 

How would YOU feel if a friend came to you in need and you spent hours with them and then at the end of the time you took to be with them, they went off and did whatever you were trying to help them NOT do.  You took your time and effort and your love to help someone, only to discover they already had set in their mind that it didn’t matter what you said, they were still going to do it.   

Does it make you angry?  Does it make you feel like you wasted your time?  Does it make you feel hurt?  Or worthless? 
 

Keep that in mind if you plan on finding someone to talk to.  It can only work if you really want to beat that temptation.  If I had already determined I was going to self harm, then I didn’t talk to anyone.  I was not going to drag someone else into it.   

This is NOT saying that you will never have the temptation again or even struggle WHILE you are talking to someone.  But you can’t go into it with your mind already made up that you are going to self harm no matter what the person says.  It wastes their time AND yours. 

SELF HARM QUOTES WARNING ON SELF HARM QUOTES DANGERS AND SELF HARM QUOTES CONCERNS

Let’s be real for a minute.  There have been times, maybe you have felt it too, where you try to force yourself to go to sleep so you don’t have to fight the temptation anymore… and then you wake up with the temptation STILL THERE. 

WHAT THEN?!!! 

DO NOT give in. 

That is only the whispers trying to make you weak.  Distract your mind.  Put your entire focus in something.  Whether it be something like praying or reading, or something like video games or exercise.   

Find that someone to call.  Talk to someone. 

A friend, a pastor, a trusted adult.  You don’t have to fight alone anymore.   

Living in fear… 

Don’t let the fear of falling allow you to live your day dreading the temptation. 

Why? 

Because then you spend all day STILL thinking about what you fear you will start thinking about! 

Be prepared.  We learned that yesterday.  When you feel the temptation or hear the whispers of needing to… replace that whispered lie with truth.  That is NOT who I am anymore.  NO MORE.  I AM strong enough to get through this.  Don’t doubt yourself.  Stay focused on your goal.  Maybe your goal is to get to the end of the day.  Maybe your goal is the end of the hour.   

It’s okay that we are not perfect. 

It’s okay that we struggle. 

Its okay we don’t have great and easy days all the time.

It’s okay to cry. 

There will come a time when we will have more good hours than bad hours.  And those good hours will turn into good days and then weeks and then months. 

The aftermath… 

Giving into the temptation… 

It might happen.  That doesn’t mean you are a horrible person and will never heal.  I believed that for a long time.  At times I didn’t even fight it because I figured I would never get over it anyways.  BUT I AM overcoming it now. 

Every day, start new.  Live and learn.  Where did you lose?  Why did you lose it?  Did you not care anymore?  Did you feel alone?  Do everything in your power to make it never happen again.  Live and learn.  There will be times we WILL fall.  Just get back up and keep going.  You are NOT failure.  You CAN overcome this. 

There were countless times that as soon as I thought about harming (for whatever reason it may have been that particular time), I just gave in immediately because, to me, fighting the temptation seemed so much worse than actually doing it.  (Of course I didn’t feel that same way AFTER I did it.) 

What do you feel AFTER you give in?  (And after the quick fix moment of escape and relief if you do so feel that.)  Once that  leave, you are left many times with regret, shame, frustration that you did it again.  I often times hated myself because I felt so… weak because I didn’t or felt like I couldn’t fight the temptation off. 

What do you feel after NOT giving in and the temptation has passed?  (Whether it be later that day or perhaps the next morning.) 

Do you feel shame or regret?  No.  You didn’t, because there was nothing you didn’t that left you in shame.  Nothing you did that you regretted.   

Sometimes I actually felt strong… almost proud of myself that I didn’t give in. 

Don’t scratch your bug bites! 

What about those times when we DON'T have a friend to talk to?   

Remember the last page?  We talked about HOW to quit and gave many different things to do in its place. 

Keep in mind, TEMPTATION WILL NOT KILL YOU.  However, many self harm techniques might.  But you will never die (though you may feel like it) from having a temptation.  No matter how strong it may be. 

You don’t hear about temptations lasting years and years… you DO hear about addictions lasting years, even life times because the temptations were never fought.   

TEMPTATION DOES GO AWAY.   

Just like a mosquito bite.  You feel it and it itches like CRAZY for a while… but what happens after some time starts to pass.  It slowly stops itching.  (Many times we forget about the itch because we focus our mind on something else!)  What happens when we give in to the temptation of scratching the itch?  It gives MOMENTARY relief but then makes the bug bite last EVEN LONGER aaaannnnndddd it makes it keep itching.   
 

DON'T SCRATCH YOUR BUG BITES!   
 

SELF HARM QUOTES TRUTH WITH SELF HARM QUOTES BLESSING BRINGING FORTH SELF HARM QUOTES HOPE

No matter how strong we are or want to be, we will all face temptation.  But… the temptation does not have to have a hold on us.  Stay determined to want to stop.  Hold on to your reasons of motivation to stop from day 4.  Find something worth fighting for.   Make an emergency plan of what you can do when you get tempted.   
 

You can get through this. 
 

Everything WILL be alright. 
 

I’ll see you at the next page whenever you are ready.