I need ways to distract myself from cutting.

Wow, well I guess I can't compare with the long answer above ^^^ But hopefully you read this! There are SO many alternatives! If you have a talent, such as an art form or such, do that! Paint a picture, do a dance, sing a song!! Art projects are always fun!! Message me if you want to talk about it more, hope I helped somewhat! xoxo <3

I used to be the same way. Please just try to find anything. Maybe bake something every time you get the urge, or try to pick up writing poems or stories or something. Try to draw a picture. Take up an instrument. Hell, chew a piece of gum. Really, anything. It'll take time, but you can do it. I self harmed for almost ten years, and I beat it, and if I can do it, I swear to God, you can too.

I'm really sorry you're going through this. Recovering from self harm when you're addicted can be really tough, but try to remember that no matter how many times you've relapsed, you're still trying to recover and that's great. As for distractions, for a long time I would snap a rubber band against my wrist when I felt the urge to cut. It didn't cause real harm like cutting does but it caused a little bit of pain, made me feel less numb and helped me focus when I wanted to just panic and cut again. Or if you cut for the marks it leaves, I've heard drawing a line in pen where you want to cut can help; not sure how well this actually works though. You could also try listening to any music that cheers you up (nothing that will just make you more depressed), write about what you're feeling, draw or do some other form of art, search the internet for inspirational quotes that you relate to, or talk to someone. If you don't want to tell people about your cutting, maybe just let them know you need cheering up/a distraction. If you can, go for a walk or bike ride or get some other form of exercise until your mind isn't on cutting so much anymore. Sorry I kind of suggested a lot of things, hopefully one will work for you

long list here!
http://caffeinatedheartbeat.tumblr.com/post/56535290144/littletinybit-lilili123bella

Take yourself back 5 years before this behaviour started. What were you doing differently then? What was your life like then? What were the positive factors in your life at that time? Looking back, you may be able to see that your addiction to self-harm is a learned behaviour, and you now have to go through the process of unlearning it. It may be useful for you to write down all the things you do enjoy doing. It may also help for you to keep a diary of how you're feeling immediately before you want to self-harm and challenge that negative thought by replacing it with a more positive one. For example, you can use affirmations, such as "This feeling of sadness/anger/shame will pass." Keeping a hair tie or elastic band around your wrist to flick and play with when trying to fight the urge to cut may also help you to distract your thoughts. I recommend stress balls too. The relief from cutting is going to be very short lived, so it needs to be replaced with something that's going to feel more satisfying, and for longer. Keep yourself physically as well as mentally occupied, such as by drawing, doodling, painting, writing or listening to music. Try searching on YouTube for guided meditations - these may help you to cope with negative thinking patterns, as well as distract you from the urge to cut. Sending you love.

Hey lovely! You probably have enough answers to this, but I have a huuuuge list of things that I got of my doc a while back. I'm proud of you that you're trying to quit, it's a big deal so well done :) If you need anymore than what people have said, feel free to message me because I have literally over a thousand and I'll dig out the papers with them all on :-) Stay strong, you'll do it x

Thank you so much to everybody who responded, it really made me cry. I'm going try your ideas I promise. Thanks for helping me<3

First of all Id like to say GOOD ON you! for trying doso hard to stop this,as it must be very difficult for you.
As this has been going on for such a long time and you have tried but keep falling back into it,I now would say you need extra help.
It is all well and good to say keep busy,find something else to get your attention,BuT.. I feel you need more than that.Once you try things over and over again and its not helping its not awful to get the help you need.Its great you are wanting help.
You need to have some professional help to give you greater skills to do this.<br/.I have a few times now put out there some phone numbers for teens in crisis to call 24/7 to speak confidentially to some one who will help you a little more,well! may be a lot more,than most here can do.If you can See your Doctor so they know what you have done to stop and see if they can help,or recommend the best place near you to go to that is what you need right now.But....
If you find you cant see any one face to face please reply to me letting me know what country you are in and ill be happy to give you a phone number for the free phone service. :-)

What part of the cutting is addicting if I may ask? If it is the pain try and get a frozen drink/Ice cream/sherbert and eat/drink it fast enough to get a brain freeze. of it is how it looks get a Elmer paint pen (usually about 3-4 bucks at walmart) and draw on your self. If it is picking scabs try using old fashion bottle caps (like the ones on glass bottle cokes or beer) That is all I can think of right now I hope it helps.

Rub tiger balm over the area you want to cut. It makes it feel like cutting even though you're not. Also try running red pen or ice cubes over the area you want to cut. Take a bath with a tiara on. Don't question it. Just do it. It's wonderful. These are all methods I've used myself but they might not work for everyone.

Hello lovely! Theyres a lot of ways you can distract yourself! Tie an elastic or hair band around your wrist and everytime you want to cut just ping the band; it still inflicts pain but doesn't scar. You can also try the butterfly project, draw a butterfly on your wrist and name it as someone you care or love, and everytime you cut yourself, you're killing the butterfly. Or instead of grabbing a razor, grab a pen or something and draw where you would originally cut yourself. Hope it helped:)

Wear a rubber band on your wrist and every time you think about cutting snap the rubber band.