I’ve been trying for years to stop, but, it’s like a safety cushion that just ends up hurting you more. Like I honestly get so mad when people tell me to “just stop.” But it’s an addiction. Once you start it’s so hard to stop and even if your years clean of something, you can still relapse. That’s the worst part. I’ve always done it even subconsciously since I was in single digits, so now it’s just sadly second nature. It’s hard to stop something that you’ve always done just in different ways. It’s not like I wanted to start, I just needed to feel or I thought I needed to be “punished” for nothing that was my fault. But I ended up finding a quick fix that’s gonna leave me scared for the rest of my life. I’ve tried everything to distract myself and make me stop. Longest I’ve gone was 6 months, I was 14. I just moved on from hitting myself to things that cause more damage yk. It’s the stinging that brings me back to reality and in a moment, just a moment, my mind stops running and my brain is calm. Just a moment of silence that always comes back. It’s not good but I just can’t stop. But I think I’ll get better and heal. Even if it’s not tomorrow or next month. Eventually I’ll get better and won’t need it anymore. Hopefully. It’s a hope I wish so desperately to come true. One day tho, whether it’s in this life or another, I won’t need it.