How do I know if I'm ready to stop? Deciding to stop self-injury is a very personal decision. You may have to consider it for a long time before you decide that you're ready to commit to a life without scars and bruises. Don't be discouraged if you conclude the time isn't right for you to stop yet; you can still exert more control over your self-injury by choosing when and how much you harm yourself, by setting limits for your self-harm, and by taking responsibility for it. If you choose to do this, you should take care to remain safe when harming yourself: don't share cutting implements and know basic first aid for treating your injuries. Alderman (1997) suggests this useful checklist of things to ask yourself before you begin walking away from self-harm. It isn't necessary that you be able to answer all of the questions "yes," but the more of these things you can set up for yourself, the easier it will be to stop hurting yourself.
While it is not necessary that you meet all of these criteria before stopping SIV, the more of these statements that are true for you before you decide to stop this behavior, the better. I have a solid emotional support system of friends, family, and/or professionals that I can use if I feel like hurting myself. There are at least two people in my life that I can call if I want to hurt myself. I feel at least somewhat comfortable talking about SIV with three different people. I have a list of at least ten things I can do instead of hurting myself. I have a place to go if I need to leave my house so as not to hurt myself. I feel confident that I could get rid of all the things that I might be likely to use to hurt myself. I have told at least two other people that I am going to stop hurting myself. I am willing to feel uncomfortable, scared, and frustrated. I feel confident that I can endure thinking about hurting myself without having to actually do so.
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