Author's Note: TW: references to past trauma, swearing, mentions of self-harm, thoughts of self-harm, descriptions of self-harm.

Hi, lovelies! Thanks so much for your kind words! Many readers said they appreciated that I included Remus struggling a bit in the last chapter, so there is a flashback here of adult Remus struggling (dedicated to a lovely reader who requested this ages ago).

Previous Chapter Summary: It's the beginning of the school year! Harry sees some professors and helps a student when something comes up. Harry just wants to be "normal".

Chapter Summary: Harry has potions. Feelings are confusing. Harry has some intrusive thoughts. Dorcas makes an appearance and Remus supports Harry. Remus shares a memory from his past.

Harry woke up the next morning to Padfoot licking his face.

Harry groaned and tried to push the black dog off of him, but he was relentless.

"Okay, okay. I'm up, I'm up," Harry moaned.

Padfoot hopped off of the bed and popped into Sirius.

"Good morning, Puppy. How are you doing?" Sirius asked kindly.

Harry just groaned.

"I'll let you wake up. Do you want me to start a shower for you?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Harry moaned, rolling over.

Harry stayed in his bed for another few minutes before reluctantly dragging himself out of his bed and into the shower.

Harry felt a bit more awake after the shower and got himself dressed before heading out to where Sirius and Remus were waiting for him.

"What time is it?" Harry asked, not even bothering to cast a Tempus.

"Eleven. It's about lunchtime, Cub," Remus said, smiling.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in," Harry yawned. "I 'preciate it."

"We're glad you were able to get some good rest in," Remus said.

"Yeah, it was nice. Did you both already go to work?" Harry asked.

Remus nodded. "We did. We had monitoring charms on your room in case you woke up, but you slept through."

"I only have one class today, Potions, I think?"

"Yes, that's right," Sirius nodded before glancing at Remus.

"We know it's not for a few hours but we wanted to chat with you before your class."

"What's up?" Harry asked as he grabbed a sandwich and started to eat.

"You have potions today and we wanted to make sure you were going to be okay with it. I know it's hard with the situation with Snape and the Slughorn memory."

Harry swallowed the bite he was chewing and set the sandwich down. "Yeah. It is hard."

"Are you sure you want to go?" Sirius asked, worried about Harry.

"I've got to go, Dadfoot," Harry said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I can't just avoid it forever. It won't be easy, but I've got to do it."

Sirius sighed, knowing Harry had a point.

"You're right, Cub. You can't avoid it forever. However, that doesn't invalidate your feelings and experiences. You can still struggle and feel nervous," Remus gently reminded his godson.

"I'll be okay. I'm eating here and then I'll go to my dorm and walk to class with my friends. Besides, Ron, Hermione, and Draco will all be in there and you know they'll keep an eye on me," Harry said, trying to reassure his parents (and himself, to be honest).

"You know where we are if you need us," Remus said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I know. I also know you're both super busy, especially you, Moony Da. I can handle it."

"Harry, there's no shame in asking for help. Remember? Everyone asks for help. You're strong for it," Remus said, trying to get through to Harry.

"I will get help if I need it. I've got this, Moony Da," Harry said with more confidence than he felt.

"Okay, we'll back off. Just remember that you're the most important part of our lives. We're here for you," Remus said.

"Thanks, Moony Da," Harry said. He had some more of his sandwich and talked to his parents about some light topics before they had to get back to work.

"Harry, your potions book is on the table in the sitting room," Remus said before they left Harry. "Don't forget it."

"Okay," Harry said, taking another sip of his pumpkin juice. "I won't!"

Sirius and Remus both kissed Harry on the head and headed out. Harry finished his lunch before grabbing a bag of crisps and going to sit on the couch. He grabbed the Quidditch magazine that was sitting on the table next to his potions book and started to read it.

Unfortunately for Harry, he was still rather tired. He planned on reading a few pages before going back to his dorm, but he ended up falling asleep.

Harry woke up about an hour later to loud banging. He rolled off the couch, bumping his elbow on the table, and staggered to the door. He looked through the peephole and then opened it.

"What's up?" Harry asked tiredly, seeing Ron.

"We've got class in like 5 minutes! We've got to go!" Ron said, waving his hands.

"Shit!" Harry said, turning around. He grabbed his wand and bag and ran out the door behind Ron.

"Draco and Hermione were freaking out, mate. They're saving our spots. I didn't even know I could take potions until I talked to McGonagall," Ron said as they dashed through the hallways.

Harry didn't reply as he was too focused on almost missing his class.

Ron and Harry made it just in time.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! Glad you can join us!" Slughorn said jovially as Harry and Ron hurried in. "You're just in time!"

Harry panted and gave Slughorn a weak smile.

Ron and Harry took their seats before Slughorn said, "I'm going to take roll while you pull out your books."

Harry reached for his bag, but he realized he had left the book sitting on the table in the Marauder Quarters.

"Weaslbe. Is Weaslbe here?" Slughorn asked.

"I'm here, Sir. It's Weasley." Ron said. He must've noticed Harry's face because he said, "Uh, Professor, Harry and I weren't expecting to be in this class. Do you have an extra textbook for us until we get our own?"

"Of course, they're over there," Slughorn said lightly, waving his hand.

Ron dragged Harry over to the cabinet and there were two books left. There was a clean book and a ratty book.

Harry and Ron looked at each other before lunging for the new book. Ron ended up getting it. Harry huffed, but he really didn't mind. He knew he had a book waiting for him upstairs, anyway.

Ron and Harry took their seats and Harry opened up the book.

"Property of the Half-Blood Prince? Hmm," Harry murmured quietly, noticing the name in the inside cover.

Harry didn't have time to ponder the name in the book before Slughorn started class.

They ended up studying some potions including Amortentia, Draught of Living Death, and Felix Felicis. They all were able to smell Amortentia. Harry wasn't sure what he'd smell as Slughorn said you would smell something that reminded you of the person (or people) one loves. However, one sniff and Harry knew. He smelled his godparents. He could smell the fabric softener that Remus uses on his cardigans, Padfoot, and the cologne Sirius wears.

Harry grinned and stepped back. He sure loved his parents.

The rest of the class went well, truly. Slughorn was great. Sure, he was full of himself and a bit much, but he was a good teacher and seemed to care about his students. Harry was impressed. Harry was happy with how the class went.

Since Potions was his only class of the day, he went back to the Marauder Quarters to drop off his potion materials. He still had to drop them off, but he didn't mind. It was one less trigger around him and he didn't mind that.

He was almost to the Marauder Quarters when Harry noticed a feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. It took him a moment to recognize what the feeling was, but when he did, he couldn't forget about it. It was guilt.

Harry didn't want to acknowledge feeling guilty. He just wanted to enjoy him feeling happy about potions. He had a good class and has an interesting textbook. He didn't want to feel guilty or sad or mad or anything. He wanted to enjoy the comfortable feeling while he had it.

Harry was able to get to the Marauder Quarters and set down his materials. He sat on the couch and pulled out a puzzle that Remus had left there, trying to keep his mind busy. It was a bit after 4 so Sirius or Remus should be back soon.

However, Harry only lasted about 15 minutes. He could feel his body becoming tingly and his breath quicken. He couldn't focus on the puzzle and started to fiddle with his sleeves.

Harry turned to look and eye his potion materials before walking over to them and picking up his knife set. He had a firm grip on it before walking out of the door.

Harry wasn't sure where he was going. He hadn't decided if he was going to hide and use it or get help. He just kept walking and found himself at Remus' office. He walked into the waiting area and saw his door shut. The light was also on above his door which indicated that he was in a session. Harry huffed. He knew Remus would want him to knock on the door, but he didn't want to bother him.

Harry turned around and found himself walking to where Dorcas was.

He walked into her studio/office and Dorcas looked up from the painting she was working on.

"Hi, Harry. How are you?" Dorcas asked before looking up and seeing the shaking teen.

Dorcas set down her paintbrush with a clatter. She waved her wand, cleaning herself up, as she walked over to Harry.

"What's going on?" Dorcas asked softly.

"I-I didn't know where else to go. Dadfoot didn't come back to the quarters and Moony Da was in a session and I found myself here and-" Harry didn't know what he was saying.

Dorcas took a step closer and kneeled in front of Harry.

"I'm here for you. What do you have?" She asked softly, despite recognizing it in a heartbeat.

Harry looked down. He was clenching the knife set tightly in his hand. The fabric was hot and Harry could feel the outline of the handles of the knives with how tight he was holding the canvas material. "I didn't know what I was going to do," Harry whispered.

"That's okay. You're here now. You're safe here," Dorcas reassured him.

Harry nodded and took a deep breath.

"Did you use them?" Dorcas asked with her eyes roaming over Harry's body to make sure he was physically unharmed.

"No," Harry whispered, shaking his head.

"I'm so proud of you," Dorcas praised. "Can I hold the set right now?"

Harry nodded. He slowly handed the knife set to Dorcas who took it and put it in her apron pocket. "Nice job, Harry."

Harry gave her a weak smile.

"Do you want to help me with a painting?"

"I'm not sure I would do very well," Harry said weakly.

"I'm sure you'll do wonderful. You don't have to be super talented. It's just watercolors," Dorcas said, leading Harry over to a large canvas.

Harry saw that Dorcas had started it, but just barely.

"What colors should I use?" Harry asked.

"Any! It's a group effort. You can do as much or as little as you want," Dorcas said warmly.

"Okay," Harry agreed shakily.

Dorcas handed him a paintbrush and Harry slowly took it. He saw the watercolors in front of him. While he has used watercolors before, he still watched what Dorcas did before cautiously trying it on his own.

"Beautiful! You're doing great!" Dorcas praised, looking at what Harry had done.

Harry gave her a weak smile and continued to paint. He was still pretty shaken up with his overwhelming feelings and thoughts in his head, but he was at least somewhat distracted and knew he was with a safe person.

While Dorcas was trained for this, she also knew that this was the first time Harry had come to her in a crisis. She didn't want to pressure him to open up and wanted to make sure that he felt safe enough to come back to her another time.

"You're doing a great job painting, Harry," Dorcas said. "If you want to talk, I'm here. No pressure," She told him.

"Thanks," Harry said. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to Dorcas about it all yet. He knew she was aware of his self-harm, depression, and trauma, but he just wanted to focus on staying safe at the moment.

"Thanks for being here," Harry added.

"Anything for you, Love," Dorcas said warmly.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus ended up reaching the Marauder Quarters around the same time. Sirius had to stay a bit later because he was talking to a student.

Sirius spotted Remus in the hallway and jogged to catch up with him. "Professor Lupin!"

Remus turned and smiled at his husband. "Hi, Love."

Sirius kissed Remus and held his hand. "It's been a minute since we've walked down the corridors holding hands."

"Sirius, we did it less than two weeks ago," Remus pointed out.
"See! It's been so long!"

Remus shook his head and kissed Sirius' cheek. "I love you."

"And I love you," Sirius replied.

They walked together to their quarters.

"Harry! We're home!" Sirius announced. He looked around and checked his bedroom. "He's probably in his dorm," Sirius concluded. "I wanted to ask how potions went for him today."

Remus went over to the cauldron Harry had and picked it up to put it away, but quickly set it back down. He started rifling through it and eventually dumped everything out.

"Moony, what's going on?" Sirius asked, seeing his husband's movements become more erratic.

"His knives aren't in here. He has his cauldron, stirrers, textbook, gloves, all of it. He doesn't have his knives."

"Shit," Sirius swore. He went over and also rummaged through the items, just to see for himself.

"We've got to find him," Remus said, his face set in concentration.

"Do you have the map?" Sirius asked.

Remus put his hands in his pocket and pulled it out. "I brought it with me today. I checked right after his class and he was in our quarters so I put it away."

"You did everything right, Rem. It's not your fault. Besides, we don't even know if Harry has hurt himself."

"You're right," Remus said, taking a deep breath. He activated the map and Sirius said, "Look, Remus. He even tried to do a puzzle."

Remus looked over his shoulder and saw the quarter-done puzzle that was since abandoned.

"Poor Cub. He was clearly trying so hard to keep himself safe," Remus said, his heart breaking.

He turned his attention back to the map. Sirius and Remus found Harry at the same time and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's with Dorcas," Sirius said, his body visibly sagging with relief.

"Thank goodness," Remus said, doing the same.

"Do we go get him?" Sirius asked. "I don't want to interrupt them if they're talking," Sirius said.

"Let's give them a couple of minutes first. Dorcas will let us know if she needs us."

Sirius nodded. "You're right."

They both stood there for a minute, watching Harry and Dorcas' dot, before Remus said, "Come on, let's get ourselves some water and wash up."

Sirius and Remus reluctantly did their after-school tasks. They both sat on the sitting room couch and talked a bit about their day when a letter flew in. Sirius grabbed it and opened it.

"It's from Dorcas!" He announced.

Sirius and Remus-

I have Harry here. He was triggered, but he is safe. He hasn't said anything and when you're ready you can come and get him. He's content right now, but I just wanted to let you know.

Love,

Dorcas

"You going to get him?" Sirius asked knowingly.

"Yes. Do you want to stay here?" Remus asked.

"Sure. I know it's important for Harry to have some privacy. I'll grade some papers. Get me if you need me."

"Thanks, Love. Talk to you soon," Remus said, kissing Sirius on the head before briskly walking out the door.

According to Remus, he wasn't rushing, but anyone who saw him in the hallway knew that the therapist was on a mission.

Once Remus reached Dorcas' studio, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Dorcas gave him a warm smile as he walked in.

"Hey, loves," Remus said, softly announcing his presence.

Harry turned. "Hi, Moony Da."

"What are you working on?" Remus asked.

"Just using some watercolors to pain. I'm not really doing anything with them. But it's nice."

"You've done so well," Dorcas said, walking over to Harry and Remus.

"I agree with Dorcas. I think you've done marvelous," Remus said.

"Thanks," Harry replied, putting his paintbrush back.

"I was hoping we could chat a little if you're up for it?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, nodding. He took off the apron he was using and hung it back up. Instead of walking, however, he shifted his weight back and forth between his feet.

"What is it, Cub?" Remus asked kindly.

"Did Aunt Dorcas tell you I was here?"

Remus glanced at Dorcas and then back at Harry. "She did, yes, but Dadfoot and I were looking for you before she contacted us. We saw you on the map with her and we knew you were safe."

Harry nodded. He bit his lip and fell silent.

"Do you want to chat more here or do you want to walk a bit?" Remus asked, leaving it open to Harry.

"Walk," Harry said.

"Okay, we'll do that. Thank you, Dorcas," Remus said.

"Of course. I'll check on you lot later if that's okay?"

"Certainly." Remus smiled.

Remus and Harry walked silently to Remus' office. Harry found a spot on the couch and held a pillow near him.

Remus sat down across from him. "Hi, Love."

"Hi, Moony Da."

"Can you talk to me a little about what happened today?" Remus asked.

Harry opened his mouth to try to respond several times, but he couldn't think of the right words.

"I'm sorry, that was too big of a question, wasn't it?" Remus apologized.

Harry nodded.

"Let's try something else. Did you go to potions today?" Remus asked.

Harry nodded.

"How was it?"

Harry pushed down his guilt, fear, anger, and disappointment for a moment to let a small smile out. "It was… good. Slughorn is a bit obnoxious, sure, but he seems to like teaching. We had a good class. I enjoyed it."

"That's so good to hear!" Remus said.

"I had a good class, truly! It wasn't until after class that I started feeling bad."

Remus nodded, listening closely.

"I was feeling pretty good about how the class went. It was nice. But then I felt this pit in my stomach and I realized I felt guilty." Harry took a deep breath and held the pillow a bit tighter. "I tried to shake it off. I didn't want to feel guilty. I just wanted to enjoy having a good class. I went to the Marauder Quarters and tried to rest and do a puzzle. It wasn't working."

Harry paused the story there. He was still internally debating if he should tell Remus about the knives or not. On one hand, he knew he should tell him, but on the other hand, he didn't want to bring it up.

"I'm proud of you for using your coping skills," Remus praised softly.

Harry shrugged and eyed the carpet.

"What made you decide to go for help?" Remus asked.

Harry was quiet, not sure if he wanted to respond, and trying to find the right words.

"Harry," Remus said after a minute of silence. "I want to remind you that you're not in trouble and I'm not disappointed. I want to help you."

Harry was quiet for another beat before taking another breath and quietly said, "I couldn't stop thinking about the knives in my potions kit. The puzzle wasn't fucking working-" Harry's voice cracked as he swore and became shaky. "I took the knives a-and I didn't know where I was going to go. When I grabbed them I didn't even know if I was going to hurt myself or if I was going to get help. I just needed to do something. I found myself coming to your office but the door was shut and the light was on. I know, I know I could've gotten you, but I didn't want to interrupt. I went to Aunt Dorcas' studio. She could tell that I wasn't okay. I gave her the knife set and then we painted."

Remus nodded. "I'm so proud of you for asking for help and getting help. That takes so much strength."

"But I didn't know that I wanted to get help!" Harry cried. "I brought knives with me! Ugh!"

"Harry," Remus began softly, going to Harry's side. "You got help. That's the important thing. It's not your thoughts that define you. It's not even your actions or your intentions. It's everything all rolled into one. Your intentions and actions do matter, but a single day doesn't define us. And if it did, today would show me how strong and resilient you are."

"But I've been clean for a while! I shouldn't have relapsed!" Harry argued. "I shouldn't even have the thought! I had a good day! I had no reason to! My feelings are fucking confusing!"

"You were triggered, Harry. It happens. Almost everyone gets triggered at some point. It's okay. I daresay you have had a lot in your sixteen years that can trigger you."

"So have you!"

"I was triggered just the other day! Dadfoot helped me."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm glad you're okay," Harry said.

"I am, thank you."

Harry, while calmed down a bit, still seemed irritated.

"What is it?" Remus asked knowingly.

"I mean, I'm glad you're okay but even though you were triggered you didn't hurt yourself! You didn't take knives and think about hiding. You didn't relapse! I almost did! I still want to so badly! You don't have that! I mean I feel so stupid and hopeless!"

Remus took a silent deep breath as his heart was breaking for Harry.

"Harry, I want to tell you a story, if that's okay."

Harry nodded. Anything to distract him from his feelings of inadequacy.

Remus gave Harry and reassuring smile and thought back to the memory.

Remus loved his family more than anything, but he was thankful for some peace and quiet.

Sirius and Harry were at class and Remus cleared his schedule to take a mental health day today. He knew he needed to take care of himself, so once a semester he cleared a day to do that.

Remus woke up late and enjoyed sleeping in. He took a long, hot shower and when he came out, decided he needed to shave.

This mental health day, while planned in advance, came at a good time for Remus. He'd been struggling with his depression the past few days and was looking forward to taking care of himself today.

Remus pulled out his blade to shower. He often had Sirius shave him, to avoid the trigger, but Sirius wasn't there and he wanted a close shave.

Remus lathered his face before making some strokes. Remus was clearly out of practice because he nicked his neck. Remus sighed and quickly grabbed toilet paper to put up against the nick.

As he did that, Remus couldn't help but feel that rush of adrenaline he felt when he was younger. Remus shook his head, pushing back the intrusive thoughts, but they kept getting louder and louder.

Remus wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he realized he started to dissociate when he looked down at his wrist and saw three cuts on his wrists.

Once Remus processed what he'd done, he dropped the razor and stepped back.

He had almost a decade of being self-harm-free. He just relapsed.

Remus' first thought was to run away, but then the thoughts came back.

You've already relapsed, why not just do more?

You might as well keep going.

There's no harm.

Remus kept thinking, but before he knew it, there were 4 more cuts on his wrist.

He dropped the razor on the floor and backed away. He moved to sit in the bathtub and cried as he eyed the razor that was lying there on the floor.

Sirius hadn't heard from Remus all day and when lunch came around, he decided to go back to their quarters to check on him. He knew something was off as soon as he stepped into their quarters.

"Remus? Remus, Love?" Sirius called out.

Remus didn't answer. He placed his hand on his mouth to muffle his cries.

"Remus?" Sirius called again. He stepped into the bedroom and saw the light spilling out from underneath the bathroom door.

"Remus? Are you in there?" Sirius asked as he knocked on the door.

Remus felt hot tears run down his face.

"Remus?" Sirius called softly. He tried the door and it wasn't locked, as Remus wasn't planning any of this.

"Remus, I'm coming in."

Sirius saw his husband sitting in the bathtub and could smell the desperation, dear, humiliation, hurt, sadness, and hoplessness coming off of him.

"Remus, my love," Sirius said, hurrying toward him. He saw the razor and wandlessly and wordleslly banished it as he rushed toward Remus.

"I've got you. I'm here now," Sirius said. He got in the bathtub behind Remus and held him from the back.

Sirius didn't ask any questions. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around Remus' arm and hugged him from behind.

"I'm here. I've got you. You are so loved. You are my everything. You're safe with me," Sirius whispered to Remus.

They stayed there for a long time. At one point, Sirius cast a silencing charm to send Minerva a patronus, letting her know that he was with Remus and wouldn't be teaching the rest of the day and that they would contact her later, and then canceled the charm.

After about 45 minutes, Remus started to speak.

"I didn't plan it. I was shaving, Siri. I was caught up in my thoughts and then I looked down and then," Remus stopped and sighed.

"I can't believe I did it. I mean it's been years. I relapsed a after James and Lily passed and I had a few incidents after we got you out of Hogwarts, but I've been clean for 4 years now! I'm almost 28! I shouldn't be dealing with this! I'm so stupid!" Remus said, hitting his head.

Sirius once again wrapped himself around Remus. He held his husband's arms close to his body so he wouldn't hurt himself. "Hey, now," Sirius chided softly. "None of that. You are smart. You are hardworking. You are doing a great job. Take a deep breath for me."

Remus followed Sirius' directions and then Sirius spoke again. "You've told me before that this is a lifelong struggle for many people. This is your coping mechanism. It's your brain reminding you to slow down and take time for yourself. We've been doing so much these past few years. Harry's in grade 2 right now. He's doing well. We've just to work on taking care of ourselves, yeah?"

"Will you stay with me?" Remus asked.

"Always, my love. Always," Sirius assured him.

Sirius stayed with Remus for a long time. At one point he slowly undressed him and ran a bath which he took with him and gently cleaned his body. He talked to Remus throughout the evening and brought Minerva to check in with him as well. Sirius and Remus took the next day off together as well and Sirius made sure that Remus had an appointment with his therapist.

"When I was 27, almost 28, I cut myself again. I had been clean for 4 years. I wasn't in the best mental spot, but I was triggered when I was shaving."

"I-I didn't know that. I'm sorry, Moony Da," Harry said.

"It's okay, really. Many people struggle with self-harm. I'm doing better now. I know that it was a warning sign for me to take care of myself. It is a coping strategy. I know that. It doesn't make me weak for relapsing. It makes me human. It's okay."

"It doesn't feel okay!" Harry said, clenching his fists.

Remus nodded. "It does feel uncomfortable. It doesn't feel good at all."

"I just want this to go away. I don't want to do it and want to do it so badly. I-I can't really explain it better than that right now."

"Just know that it's okay to have these thoughts. It doesn't mean that you are bad or wrong. You are doing a good job, do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I do. I feel a little better, but I still don't want to be alone right now, is that okay?"

"Of course, Love. Do you want to talk more about it? Do you want to be distracted? Or do you want me to sit with you?"

"I just want you to sit with me," Harry requested quietly.

"Of course. I am here with you through this. I am here for you. I love you."

Harry gave Remus a weak smile and leaned on him. He wasn't sure what was going on in his mind, but he appreciated Remus. He loves his dads so much.

"I've got you, Cubby. Just rest. You're safe with me," Remus whispered as he ran his hands through Harry's hair.

Harry and Remus stayed in his office for hours, even eating dinner there. Eventually, Remus brought Harry back to their quarters and slept in Harry's room that night.

Remus lay next to Harry in bed. He was stroking his hair once again. "I'm so proud of you, Harry. You did so well today."

Harry murmured his disagreement but leaned into Remus' comforting touch.

"You did so well, believe me. You have fought hard and I'm proud of you. You're doing a great job."

"Thanks for staying with me," Harry mumbled quietly.

"I wouldn't leave you. You're my cub. You're my world. I love being with you. I love you."

Harry made a pleased sound and snuggled further into the bed. "I love you, Moony Da."

Remus kissed Harry's head and smiled before shutting his own eyes.

Even if Harry feels alone, he's not. He's got someone in his corner. He has support. And so do you.

Alternatives to Harming Yourself:

1. Talk to someone you care about and/or trust

2. Exercise

3. Get outside and get some fresh air

4. Have a warm beverage

5. Write something down

6. Go to therapy/ contact your therapist

7. Be with your pet or another animal

8. Take a nap

9. Play or fiddle with a fidget

10. Do something artistic (draw, paint, use clay, play-doh, fingerpaint, etc)

11. Play a game

12. Bake or cook something you like to eat

13. Mindfulness, breathing exercises, meditation (variety of strategies including naming something of each color of the rainbow, 5, 4, 3, 2,1 with your senses, box breathing, rainbow breathing, 5 finger breathing, etc)

14. Listen to music

15. Ice cubes (hold them, put them where you want to harm yourself)

16. Puzzles (jigsaw, Sudoku)

Suicide Hotlines:

USA: 988 (press 1 for veterans)

Canada: 1 (833) 456 4566

France: 0145394000

Italy: 800860022

UK: 0800 689 5652 OR 116 123

Brazil: 188

India: 9999 666 555

Mexico: 5255102550

Romania: 0800 801 200