(CW: self harm, positive) Had I learned this sooner, I could have known how to help myself better.
A comic I made about how letting myself stim again helped me stop self-harming, because a lot of the time a need to harm was a misinterpretation of needing to stim but masking so much I had forgotten how. Stimming needs to be normalized & talked about more! Had I been comfortable stimming & known it was an option for the feelings I had, I could have helped myself better much sooner, but I’m proud of my recovery ♥
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 1: Pink background with an illustration of a person with short hair. Their eyes are closed & their arms are reaching up & wiggling. Text reads “How letting myself stim again helped me self harm less”. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 2: Pink background with illustration of person with short hair standing with their hand out. Text: while it never was a huge problem for me, it still was an unhealthy coping mechanism I relied on a lot. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 3: Pink background with illustration of person with short hair wrapped in a blanket & crying with a scribble above their head. Text: Around the time my therapist & I sarted discussing my neurodivergence, I learned what “masking” was & realized I’d taught myself out of most stimming behaviors. One day on a whim when I had the urge, I decided to try stimming to relieve the feelings instead. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 4: Pink background with illustration of person with short hair with their arms outstretched & hands wiggling. The text in bold letters at the top says “IT HELPED” & that is outlined in yellow. Above the person there is a black scribble above their head now covered up by a yellow squiggle & their hands are glowing. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 5: Pink background with a glowing yellow star in the center. The star has a small red heart in the center. Text: I began to explore this & learned that for me, a lot of times when I felt the overwhelm that led me to feel the urge, I didn’t need to harm at ALL to get rid of those feelings. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 6: Pink background with an illustration of a smiling person with short hair with their arms out towards the same glowing yellow star with a red heart in the center as the last slide. Text: In fact, many times what I perceived to be a desire to harm was really an unmet need to stim, or else overwhelm that could be relieved by stimming. END ID]
[IMAGE ID: SLIDE 7: A pink background with an illustration of a person with short hair wearing a yellow outfit with a red heart on the center of the shirt. They are smiling & have their eyes closed & are hugging themselves. Text: Since discovering that, I’ve really been able to use healthier coping mechanisms & almost NEVER need to harm anymore. I wish stimming was talked about & accepted more so I could have learned this sooner. I’m very proud of myself though! The words “never” & “proud” are outlined with yellow highlighter. END ID]
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