Hello from the Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL)! [12 Jun 2009|12:07pm] perl_sfu Would you like to help us understand how to help people who self-harm?   Self-injury (sometimes called “self-harm”) involves harming yourself on purpose. Some examples include cutting or burning yourself, taking an overdose of pills, or banging your head. Right now, very little is known about why people start or stop self-harming. The Personality and Emotion Research Lab (PERL), a research team from Simon Fraser University in Canada, is conducting a study to learn more about the experiences of people who self-harm, and we want your help!  We are interested in how emotions, life experiences, stress and coping styles affect self-harm. We hope that this research will help other people understand more about why people self-harm and what they can do to help.    What you can do: If you want to participate in this study, you will fill out online questionnaires on self-harm, emotions, coping, symptoms, and life events. These questionnaires will take approximately 2 hours to complete.     Who can participate: We are looking for people who currently self-harm (whether you are trying to stop or not), AND those who have self-harmed in the past and quit.   What’s in it for you: Participants who complete the questionnaires will be paid $5 CAD (money transfers via PayPal). You can also choose to participate in our long-term study, where you will fill out a shorter version of the questionnaires every three months for two years. You will be paid $5 CAD each time you complete a set of questionnaires (about 30 min each), and you will get a $15 CAD bonus once you have completed all 9 sets for a total of $60 CAD. Telling us about your experiences will give us important information on how self-harm changes over time, and could help develop and improve treatments for people who want to stop self-harming.   Please contact us at perl@sfu.ca if you are interested in participating or if you have any questions.   Thank you,   Personality and Emotion Research Laboratory (PERL) Simon Fraser University Department of Psychology RCB5246, 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6 pain

New Community [15 Nov 2008|06:21pm] lildixieangel06 [ mood | optimistic ] I just started a new community for recovering self-injurers. It's a twelve-step community, because there is no actual twelve-step group for self-injury, and I think there should be. We all know that cutting is an addiction. If twelve step meeting aren't for you, that's fine. But if you're interested, join. I just created it, so at this point there's not really anything there. I've never started a community before so I'm just feeling my way around this. If you're interested in helping me mod this, let me know. si_anonymous  3 not reaching for the razor & pain

I'm Moriah, and I'm a cutter. [10 Nov 2008|07:03pm] lildixieangel06 [ mood | optimistic ] My last post on here was this post. That night I was home alone, and I kept looking out the window every few minutes, hoping my friends would come home so I wouldn't cut, and also hoping they wouldn't come home so I could. I ended up cutting. Several on my shoulders, one on my leg, and my wrist. I was sitting on my bed deciding if I was done or not when I heard them come home. That made up my mind, and meant I was done. I threw my comforter over the blades because I didn't have time to put them away. My pants covered my leg and my sleeves covered my shoulders, but all I could do about my wrist was put my hand over it. My friend Chad came in my room and sat on my bed and was talking to me, and all I could think about was trying to play it cool and not act suspicious. He picked up the box where I keep my blades and was looking for the lid. He moved the comforter looing for it and I quickly stopped him. He didn't really pick up on what was going on. His wife, my best friend, Kayla, did. I didn't find out this until the next day. This happened on Sunday night. On Monday I went to work, planning on going to my parents house after work and telling my mom that I was failing out of school and that I was going to drop out. I went over there, but before I got around to it, Kayla and Chad walked in. My little sisters had mysteriously disappeared. Mom, Dad, Kayla, and Chad had an intervention with me, and to make a long story short, they sent me to a psych hospital (the same one that my mom works at). I was inpatient for 15 days, and then did two weeks of outpatient. I got out exactly one day before I'd been there a month. The first day I was in the main hospital, but after that I got moved to the Drug and Alcohol Rehab unit (because it's the highest functioning unit, and my psychiatrist tries to get all of his patients there). Here, I was immersed in 12-step. Which, I have learned, is quite good for me, an addict. I'm not a drug addict, and I'm not an alcoholic. Probably only because I've never done drugs and haven't gotten to that point with alcohol yet. But I am an addict. I become obsessive about anything an everything, and I've known for years that self-injury is an addiction. I also learned about suicide addiction, which explains a lot about my life. Since I've been out, I've been going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings almost daily, as well as Suicide Anonymous meetings on Mondays. I'm not always sure how much they're helping me because I don't have a sponsor (yet) and I'm not technically working the program. But I am getting closer and closer to that point. I'm just taking everything really slowly. I told my psychiatrist (who started Suicide Anonymous) that I wish there was a Self-Injury Anonymous, and he told me how hard it is to start a program and that Self-Injury programs don't tend to stick for whatever reason. Still, I think that may be a dream I have. To start some sort of program for Self-Injurers. I also told him about this community, and he agreed that it's a great thing for me. So for the time being, this is my self-injury support. I also have some online friends that I've known for years who struggle with self-injury. If it weren't for these things, I know I'd feel very alone. I'm at 50 days clean today. In ten days I get my 60 days NA keytag. So, just for today, I have blunt_razors. And I'm glad to be here. 3 not reaching for the razor & pain

New: Ex Cutter [06 Nov 2008|09:26am] skitzomind [ mood | curious ] I'm new to this community. Female,16, SF/Cali, Ex-cutter. I was cutting from the time I was12 to just recently. It does get very, very tempting sometimes only because I didn't cut to feel pain or really try to kill myself. I'm new so If you wanna chat. Click on my blog then. pain

[02 Nov 2008|05:53pm] rockerxinlove [ mood | forgiving ] i'm an ex cutter, its hard sometimes. I know. I stopped and it was probably the best thing thats happened to me. I still think about it sometimes, but i know that I am strong. I want to help people, so if anyone needs advice feel free to respond back. pain

i really don't have a title for this [18 Oct 2008|02:20am] thebigdisaster [ mood | blah ] [ music | Come Round Soon by Sara Bareilles ] I'm 18 years old and I've been cutting for 4 years.   There are days when it's not hard at all to avoid it, but then there are the days that I get knocked the f**k out of the ring and it takes everything in me to fight the battle not to do it.  I usually lose this battle.  I last cut 4 months ago.  I would like to say that it means I'm going to stop, but I don't think it does.  Self-mutilation is something I have ALWAYS run to.....ever since I was 13 and I discovered burning.  I know I have a problem, I know I'm addicted, and I know that I NEED to quit.  I'm just not ready to yet....I'm getting there, but it's hard.  Harder than almost EVERYTHING.  I kind of feel like I'm on the edge right now.  Just kind of teetering between healthy and unhealthy.  I would like to say 4 months is a good achievement, but I know the only reason I haven't is because something hasn't hit me that hard yet and it's been a while since that particular mood has hit me... ( And leave out all the rest ) ( And leave out all the rest )   3 not reaching for the razor & pain

WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN! [24 Sep 2008|09:21pm] drivefasterboys [ mood | optimistic ] what a long strange bunch of struggles it's been! OH I haven't been here in 3 years... wow. Oh, I wish I could update you guys on everything. I doubt the same people are here... either that or there are lots of new people. I just want to let everyone know that I'm 7 months clean. I know it's been long but I just want everyone to know that this community was a big help for me... So much willing support, I couldn't even grasp my arms around completely if I tried to bunch it all together... Getting so much feedback and giving kept me busy! I've learned a lot of new coping skills that I don't think I would've ever believed could work, but they do! Believe me... The biggest thing I've learned is that That feeling DOES NOT last forever. Ah, I don't think I could ever thank this community and the people in it enough. I wish you alllllll the best. I know I'm just one person... and probably a stranger, but if you EVER need to talk to someone you can always contact me. (mightyshort@gmail.com, or my AIM: raina was likee) I hope you all are hanging in there. one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time  one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time one day at a time 2 not reaching for the razor & pain

relapse [30 Aug 2008|10:13pm] neville123 i went through a period where i would cut everyday and many cases several times a day. i used it to console  every little feeling. This resulted in several hospital stays , alternative schools, and a residential. I went a good 2 years without cutting, but i hit a bump. a few weeks ago i cut again. I'm ashamed that i've gone back to that point after all of the shit i went through to get better. are relapses normal? Does this mean i ruined everything i've worked for for the past two years?has anyone been through something simular? 1 not reaching for the razor & pain

[27 Aug 2008|01:02am] somnallocution ( percent i am a bad person: 100 ) 1 not reaching for the razor & pain

[07 Apr 2008|10:27am] misfitking  I cut for 3 years on and off just as i thought i would never cut again i find myself reaching for a knife, there is just to much shit in my life to stop ya'no. 3 not reaching for the razor & pain

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