So as I was browsing through Tumblr, I found this thing called "The Butterfly Project". I figured I would share on here because it is a cute idea and you never know what might help someone The Butterfly Project The Rules are: 1. When you feel like you want to cut, take a marker, pen, or sharpies and draw a butterfly on your arm or hand. 2. Name the butterfly after a loved one, or someone that really wants you to get better. 3. You must let the butterfly fade naturally. NO scrubbing it off. 4. If you cut before the butterfly is gone, you’ve killed it. If you dont cut, it lives. 5. If you have more than one butterfly, cutting kills all of them. 6. Another person may draw them on you. These butterflies are extra special. Take good care of them. 7. Even if you don’t cut, feel free to draw a butterfly anyway, to show your support. If you do this, name it after someone you know that cuts or is suffering right now, and tell them. It could help.
I've been doing this for more than a year, though I choose to disregard 4 and 5. If I cut again when I have a butterfly, they don't die. They just remind me to keep myself safe.
A friend of mine does this, though she doesn't name her butterfly because if she kills it then that'd make her feel worse and cut more. I thought about it when I self-harmed, but realised I would just go around it and simply not cut the wings. What worked for me was to write names of a few people who I cared about in some places, and those places (not other ones, but enough that I only really harmed in places that would heal) were protected from myself since I could remember they loved me. Maddy, Sarah, Emma, and Katie, you guys helped me mostly without knowing it. (*hug*)
I've tried this. Never helped me long term, bu it's a great way to help someone start the quitting process
Copied from tumblr: ey everyone! earlier today I heard about the paperchain project, some people find it hard to recover using only the butterfly project, so i thought that it’d be great to get this new project out there. It is an amazing idea and i really recommend that you use it! the rules are: 1. Every day you go without self harming of any sort, add a coloured strip of paper to add to the chain. (or to start it!) 2. If ever you do relapse (self-harm), then you add a white strip. This way, you are not taking away an things, and you are not wrecking how far you’ve already come. 3. Whenever you do feel like relapsing, look at the chain and think how far you’ve come. 4. Over time, the chain will grow in length. You will, as you get further in recovery, start to see a decrease in white strips, and more colourful strips! 5. Be as creative as you want, but make sure that the days where you do self harm are plain white, this will create a more distinguised look and it will be easier to see how many days you’ve had off. Draw hearts, butterflies, stars, the names of people who help you, anything! This is my favorite of the projects because it reminds me that life goes on, even if I do relapse. 8 days free, baby!
Yeah: Also Bracelet Project the bracelet project: each disorder has a colour that corresponds to it. schizophrenia is gold. bipload/mood disorder is silver. anorexia is red. bulimia is purple. EDNOS is pink. depression is blue. self harm is orange or black. fasting at the time is green. suicidal is yellow. overweight/obese is turquoise. anxiety/panic disorder/OCD is teal. adding a white bead means you’re trying to recover. if your bracelet is half of the colour that your disease is and half white, it means you’re in recovery. you can also make the strand the main disorder you have then add beads to your lesser disorders. if you see someone in public wearing bracelets with these colours, you are supposed to make eye contact and point to your bracelet. if she nods, then you know she is part of the bracelet project. help spread the awareness about the bracelet project! I make bracelets for this, and it really helps me. Partly because of the sensations I get from tying knots, and partly because it reminds me that I can do useful things for other people. If anyone wants one, send me a PM. Sadly, it does require that you be a full mmember on EC, because if you want a bracelet, I have to mail it. I promise that there are no records of the transaction, and it's totally free. If this is against the rules for some reason, please remove the post.
I like this. I shall do it! Starting from the last time I self harmed. It may take a while. But I think it's worth it. So every time I want to there's a visual representation of how far I've come.
