You made the courageous decision to stop self-harming and even managed a certain amount of time without needing to self-harm.
You feel you're making progress, and that you have left self-harm in the past. "Never again" you've told yourself.

And then, out of nowhere,
the urge to self-harm returns -
and before you know it, you've done it....



And, in that moment, you feel like you've failed.

The important thing to realize is that
"it happens" .

You are certainly not alone. Undoubtedly at some time or another, most people who stop self-harming for a period of time, will relapse somewhere along the way.


You may have feelings that you have “failed”
or that you are ashamed or angry at yourself for resorting back to the behavior you so desperately wanted to leave behind.

Whilst those feelings may be understandable, they do not reflect reality.
You do not deserve to feel ashamed or angry at yourself because you have tried your absolute best - and that is all you or anyone else can ask of you.

You have shown courage and determination, and for that, you deserve to feel proud.

Did you know that some experts believe that relapsing is actually a necessary and important part of the recovery process,
as each time we relapse,
we have the opportunity to learn more about our triggers
and how to deal with them in a healthier way.

Although it is unfortunate that you have relapsed,
try to view it an an opportunity to learn more about yourself and to move even further ahead with your healing.
http://www.pandys.org/articles/relapsing.html

You’re trying really hard not to self-harm.
You’ve thrown away your blades, used the alternatives, and you’re getting help to deal with your underlying “issues”.

You’re drawing on willpower you didn’t know you had
and you’ve managed to go for longer than ever before without hurting yourself.

Then something happens to trigger you...
or maybe you just can’t keep up the effort any more,
and you end up self-harming, again.
Does this mean you’re beyond help? Should you give up trying to get better?