Emotional Regulation and Self-Harm Recovery

Emotions themselves are neither productive nor destructive; in the context of self-injury, they can be both harmful and healthy. Intensity can be a critical determining factor here, which is what makes self-harm emotional regulation so important for healing.

What Is Emotional Regulation for Self-Harmers?

Emotional regulation refers to how we manage and respond to our feelings. In the context of self-harm, emotional regulation can help us process and reexamine difficult feelings and redirect emotional energy so that it no longer feeds the vicious cycle of self-harm. Or, to put it another way: healthy self-harm emotional regulation techniques help us cope with emotions and cravings in helpful, rather than harmful, ways.

Note that emotional regulation does not mean suppressing or repressing emotions. Simply pushing away negative emotions doesn't actually make them go away, and doing so can be incredibly detrimental to the self-harm recovery process. Instead, emotional regulation is all about finding healthy, productive ways to accept our feelings and work through them.

Emotional Regulation Strategies for Self-Harm Recovery

There are a wide array of self-harm emotional regulation options that may bolster your recovery, but not every method is right for every person. As such, it is ideal to work with a therapist to systematically discover which options will work best for you. However, if you're unable to connect with a mental health professional at this time or just want some fresh options to try, here are a few ideas to help get you started.

Have you found any of these self-harm emotional regulation strategies helpful? Do you have others that have worked for you in the past that you'd like to share? Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments―you never know who you might be able to help.