Help available to stop self-harming?

[crazykittensmile]

Have name changed for this. I am 26 and started self-harming when I was fifteen, mainly cutting and burning myself. It was very frequent (several times most days) up until I was 21 and I visited A&E for treatment a few times. I had a very good support network of friends who I was eventually able to talk openly and honestly with and the frequency at which I was self-harming decreased significantly and I pretty much stopped self-harming two years ago.

However, about six months ago I started self-harming again. I have moved to a new town for a new job away from my previous support network and feel lonely a lot of the time. The self-harm is still somewhat sporadic, I may go through a fortnight of doing it daily and then not do it again for a few weeks or a month and then I may do it again just once before another long break or have a run of doing it daily.

I don't want to be doing this, however I feel powerless to stop. When I started self-harming aged 15 I had a lot of stuff going on and I think there were very clear reasons for it, but now there is nothing specific making me want to do it, just a general feeling of being down and unhappy. I don't feel I can turn to anybody in real life about this, although my friends were very supportive when I was going through this in my teens/early twenties I feel now at 26 I am too old to be doing this and that they will see it as pathetic and/or attention seeking.

Is there anybody I could see about this, and is help available free? I saw a councillor through CAHMs when I was 16/17 but didn't get on with it very well and stopped going. I also saw a councillor through university when I was 20 but again didn't get on with it very well and again stopped going. I don't think I am depressed, I am generally quite happy and optimistic, but every time I feel down I seem to be going back to self-harm which is a massive step backwards.

Does anybody know if my GP would be able to help with this and what sort of help he might offer? Is there an alternative to councilling?

CBT - it's not counselling (which I found useless for SH as it doesn't address how you can cope with the urge to do it or the thought patterns that cause the urge) and it helped me stop after SHing for 5 years or so

If you have not found counselling works then you could look at cbt which helps you make changes in your life. Or medication. Or as you day friends helped you before and you are in a new place with no support could you think about how to make new friends and get that support again as perhaps you are reacting to the stresses that moving causes and when you are more settled things may change.

I was told self harm is an abnormal coping mechanism to abnormal situation so if I focused on the situation my self harm changed. That is what helped me, changing what I could change and having to learn to accept what I could not change.

Have you tried holding ice cubes instead of harming yourself.
EFT (emotional freedom technique) is powerful for PTSD, and I have found Tapping very helpful.