hurting yourself - The Icarus Project

Harm Reduction
Harm reduction means that there are ways to care for yourself even
though you can’t or don’t want to stop a potentially risky behaviour. If
you drink, for instance, you can make sure that you don’t drink and
drive. If you use drugs you can make sure you use clean syringes and
needles. The idea is to reduce as much harm as possible while keeping
up the desired effects.
Even though you hurt yourself you may not want to cause permanent
damage. There are a lot of harm reducing things you can do when
you hurt yourself. What works for you depends on what aspect of the
experience is most important for you. For instance:
If the pain is most important there are a lot of ways to cause pain that
maybe cause less damage to your body than what you do now.
If bleeding is important you can make sure not to cut an artery so it
won’t become life threatening. If you cut you can use a clean knife or
blade and maybe desinfect your skin (with alcohol for instance).
If marks on your skin or scars are important you can try if writing or
painting on your body helps, or maybe getting a tattoo, piercings, or
other body modifications. Some people say they help them customize
their bodies in order to feel at home.
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