Done burning but...

[SleighBells]

I'm new to this forum but I just had a quick question. I have been "clean" for about 4 months but I used to burn myself. I still struggle with wanting to but so far I've been able to hold off. It was really hard to not give in but I'm getting better at it. No one excpet my best friend knows about, however I've been to counseling for depression.

I thought I was doing well until I heard something the other day. Ever since I've stopped burning myself I started peeling my cuticles and the tips of my fingers, to the point that they bleed. As much as I hate to say it, I like it when they bleed. It hurts but the pain feels good. And I can't stop. I thought it was just a disgusting habit but someone said something the other day that made me think I'm potentially still selfharming. Is this true? It doesn't seem like a big deal but I just wanted to know what you think so I can tell if I'm still doing it, just in a different way.

Thanks

[Le bonheur*]

Hey there,

First off I'd like to say welcome to TeenHelp and congratulations on not burning for a whole 4 months. That's an amazing accomplishment.

With that said, self-harm is doing anything to intentionally hurt yourself. You said that you like it when you bleed and the pain feels good... I would say that it's still a form of self-harm since you actually "enjoy" it. I advise telling your counselor or someone else you trust so you can beat this. You did it once with burning, you can beat this too. You should also take a look at the alternatives thread. Keep in mind that not all of these things will work for you but you could do a trial and error type of thing to find something that works for you.

I hope I helped. Feel free to PM/VM me whenever you need to talk to someone.

Take good care,
Brittany