By Jody Betty and Anne Moss Rogers
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A few years ago, I met Jody Betty a trauma survivor who reached out and wrote a post on this blog about the self-harm safety box, also called the self-harm safety kit. She used this strategy to help her end years of self-harming. That post became one of the top ten posts and over the years and many therapists, teens and adults have reached out to say how important and effective this resource has proven. And that includes teens who have used it and one who shared pictures and specific elements that have helped her.
So I asked Jody to be the lead author so we can share this strategy to help others.
Who is this for? Those who self-harm, clinicians, parents, educators, and youth leaders.
How to Make a Self-Harm Safety Box: A single strategy guide to end self-harm behavior
What to expect from this 16-page self-harm safety box ebook:
- Find out how a self-harm survivor and a 14-year-old used this strategy successfully
- Directions on creating an effective self-harm safety box
- Find out the difference between a suicide attempt and self-harm
- Testimony from a recovered self-harm survivor about the “why” behind the behavior
- Resources for sufferers, parents, clinicians
We are not doctors!
Jody Betty and Anne Moss Rogers are the authors of this eBook and not medical or mental health professionals. This guide was written by a person with lived experience, Jody, who wrote an article about this for Emotionally Naked. It includes the testimony of a 14-year-old who used the strategy in order to find recovery from this destructive coping strategy.
The contents of this eBook are geared toward counselors, parents, youth leaders, as well as youth and adults, who want to stop the behavior and adopt healthier coping strategies.
Disclaimer
This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical/mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical/mental health condition. Never disregard professional medical/mental health advice, or delay in seeking professional treatment because of something you have read here.
About Jody Betty
Jody Betty is an author, acclaimed blogger, and host of the Mental Health Raw and Open podcast, an open platform for people to share
their stories.
She is a three-time suicide attempt survivor. From infancy to age 14, she endured sexual abuse and coped with the trauma by self-harming and other destructive coping habits. Jody eventually found a path to healing, and now shares her stories online to help others understand they are not alone in their thoughts and feelings.
Jody’s viral blog, “I Want You to Want to Live,” written in 2016, has reached over two million people worldwide and is translated into multiple languages. She resides in Niagara Falls, Ontario with her chosen family, Ed and Kelly, and their pets
About Anne Moss Rogers
Anne Moss Rogers is an Emotionally Naked® professional mental health speaker, consultant, registered suicide prevention trainer, and owner of the blog, EmotionallyNaked.com. Prior to her twenty-year-old son Charles’ tragic and unexpected death by suicide at age twenty, Anne Moss co-owned a digital marketing firm and was president and later ED of a youth mental health nonprofit. In 2017, she sold her marketing firm to pursue mental health advocacy and suicide
prevention full time.
Her award-winning memoir is called Diary of a Broken Mind, and her second book Emotionally Naked: A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk, with co-writer Kimberly O’Brien PhD, LICSW, was an amazon best seller published on August 24, 2021, through Wiley Publishing.
Anne Moss was the first non-clinician invited to speak at the National Institute of Mental Health on suicide. Anne Moss helps people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse, and find life after loss. Her speeches and trainings focus on topics of mental health, suicide prevention, addiction as well as resilience, coping strategies, and finding hope after loss.
I agree, especially as self-harm remains a misunderstood topic & is still perceived by others as a suicide attempt rather than a coping mechanism (although unhealthy) to deal with overwhelming emotional pain.
Yeah. A lot of people get that mixed up. It’s called NSSI which means Non-suicidal self injury.
My parents included, I often got “if you’re trying to kill yourself, it’s straight across.” My 15-year-old sister has a friend that used to cut herself & we had to correct my mum when she said the exact same thing.
The one coping strategy that really helped me stop when I was self-harming is something called ‘The Butterfly 🦋 Project’, I have included the rules below for anyone who might want to try it.
1. When you feel like you want to cut, take a pen, marker or sharpie & draw a butterfly wherever the self-harm occurs.
2. Name the butterfly after a loved one, or someone that really wants you to get better.
3. You must let the butterfly fade naturally, NO scrubbing it off.
4. If you cut before the butterfly is gone, it dies. If you don’t cut, it lives.
5. Another person may draw them on you. These butterfly’s are extra special. Take good care of them.
That is so awesome. Thank you for sharing the specific rules. This post gets a ton of visits and the comments are always read. So this is very helpful, Cheyenne. You are really good at this!
If by sharing with other’s who self-harm what helped me when I was trying to stop can help just ‘one’ person on the road to recovery AMR, it will be worth it! ❤️
And people read the comments Cheyenne. Lived experience like what you have is so important.