This second part of my series aimed at providing support for people suffering from BPD adresses one of the most discussed topics when it comes to the disorder and one that is highly controversial. This specific post will focus on reasons to gather all your strenghts and do your best to avoid ever consciously harming yourself physically in any way.

1) I believe the main reason one should never start harming themselves, be it by cutting yourself or burning yourself or punching walls etc., is that it's addictive. I don't think people who do this for the first time are aware of this aspect and one of the reasons they aren't is because self harm, due to its nature, is not discussed anywhere. When you're struggling with extremely negative emotions or mental health issues harming yourself can provide a relief which can be irreplaceable for many. I'm not a neuropsychiatrist, but I'll try my best to describe what it feels like and why I found it to be highly addictive. BPD is about emotional dysregulation, which means you never quite experience emotions the way other people do; you don't have a way of experiencing them the way they're supposed to be experienced. Sometimes they hit you all at once, sometimes you feel devoid of any emotion, but what really messes me up personally is that twisted shitty little feeling that comes with dysregulated emotions, I can only describe it as a sort of emotional warp which distorts everything.
I have a feeling that in those regards I tend a little more towards the "psychotic" side of BPD than the more typically neurotic aspects that come with it. Anyway, it feels as if that feeling is turning me inside out and painting everything in a very scary way.
Self harming in that state brought relief so profound it's hard to describe. It's like a wave of satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that you're going to be alright as long as the effect lasts. You feel regulated. You don't fear any mood shifts for a couple of hours. You're calm, you're in control. The reason I'm describing it as if it was a drug is because it is. I've always had some pretty strong self control over self harm because I realized its potential right away and was probably intimidated by it so it never got out of hand the way you see in some pictures of people who've clearly abused themselves to a high degree, but I still wish I'd never done it for this simple reason: I haven't self harmed in more than two years and a half, and I still think and long for the sensation regularly. Not all the time, but its always present and to my knowledge it never quite leaves you and you always run the risk of relapsing because you know it as a solution to your problems, albeit only a temporary and destructive one.

2) The risk for physical damage beyond the one needed for relief is enormous. Don't put knives or other instruments of harm upon your body. Chances are you don't know what you're doing. It's not worth it. Nerve damage, infections and worse could happen.
I won't say a lot about this aspect because I assume it's the most obvious one to anyone. If you cut yourself with a kitchen knife things can get pretty fucked. Just so you know.

3) Scars. They never leave your body. Even after the wounds heal and scar, they are still extremely obvious. And some may think they don't care now, but they will regret it once their life has turned out so much better than they ever thought was possible.
It's been more than seven years since I started self harming and the scars from then haven't faded. They won't. If you cut your arms this will have a detrimental impact on your chances of getting a job and therefore on being able to provide for yourself and possibly your family. It's also something which is not seen well by people. You can agree or not, but it disturbs most and I can understand why. Being able to live a functioning life in your community is everything. Don't fuck it up. 

4) Ultimately, self harming works just like any addiction. It's a temporary, highly damaging way of providing relief from the pain you experience but it doesn't tackle the underlying issues.
It doesn't make your life any better and it doesn't get you where you need to be. Use your time and strenght to find sources of support like therapy, friends and family (if you don't have a family or if it's a shitty one screw that and create your own group of people close to you like a family would be). 

Invest only in activities which help you get rid of problems rather than creating additional ones. Self harming will fuck you up physically and mentally and maybe even socially. Don't do it.
Do physical activity. Workout, go run every morning, do fucking yoga, anything that will rid you of all that stress piling up while also taking care of your mind the best way you can. That's how you improve your situation.

As I said in my previous post, I hope you guys will help me improve this series of posts by commenting with helpful suggestions and coming up with ways to support each other.
Stay strong.