Improving Mental Health

Overcoming self-harm isn't just about stopping doing it. It's about finding better ways to cope and addressing the thoughts, feelings and situations that led up to self-harm in the first place. You might well be thinking, "Why bother to stop hurting myself if I'm still going to feel just as miserable?" If so, this section is for you! The ideas here aren't short-term strategies for surviving without self-harm - they're long-term solutions for improving your mental health.

Most of the suggestions here are based on CBT and DBT, two very practical forms of therapy that can also be used in a self-help context.

DBT was developed for people with borderline personality disorder, but other self-injurers may find it useful. It teaches healthier ways of coping with life's problems, including skills for getting through a crisis, improving your mood, managing relationships, and mindfulness. You can find a summary of these skills, together with links to further information, on our DBT coping skills page.

CBT aims to improve your mood by changing the way you think and behave. It can be used to address many common mental health problems such as depression or anxiety disorders. Lifting mood with CBT looks at how to do this in general terms, and provides links to useful resources, while Challenging thoughts explains in detail how you can change negative thinking patterns.


Free Online Programmes

DBT Class
A free online DBT class, aimed at people with borderline personality disorder.

Living Life to the Full
A free online CBT course for anyone who thinks they may benefit.

The MoodGYM
Another online CBT course. Quite a flashy site.

Depression Center
An online CBT self-help programme for overcoming depression. They also run one for anxiety and panic attacks called Panic Center.


Further Information & Books

For information about DBT and CBT as types of treatment, see our Getting Help section.

You can find a range of DBT and CBT self-help books in our Bookstore.