ways to avoid self harm

I realize lately I have been posting more about myself and less about things that deal with mental health/ schizophrenia. I wanted to post about self harm again because I think it is big issue many people in society face today.
Many things can trigger self harm, command hallucinations, or thoughts of suicide. Some people are especially subject to severe mood changes due to certain brain disorders. You know this if you are living with bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or any of the schizoid disorders. There are several others as well. Weather conditions, lack of sunlight, little or too much human interaction can also be factors that lead someone's mind to self harm/ suicidal thoughts. Some even have command hallucinations that tell them to do things they may not want to do....or if your kinda bad off, you may not know you don't wan to do those things until its too late. So...how can we tell if we're at a place where these may be thoughts popping into someone else's mind? What do we do if that person is ourselves?
Really you can never really know what is going on in someones mind unless they tell you. Sometimes, they will not tell you verbally. It may be in small actions here or there. Look for the person not eating, not showering, or forcing themselves to vomit even. All of those are forms of self harm. It isn't just hitting yourself or cutting yourself. If that's you then you need to get help. Find someone you trust and let them help you. You aren't going to be carted off and locked away for ever. You can go see a therapist without being institutionalized. The therapist can help you deal with the symptom (self harm) and try and find a cause in the mean time. It may be that life is rough, it may be depression and you may have to go to a psychiatrist for medical help. Once again, they aren't going to cart you off unless they deem you a danger to yourself or others. Even then you'll go to a ward and stay a week and then go home. I can write about this later.
What I do when I feel myself slipping to that place again? I treat the symptom until I can identify and correct the cause. I go outside, I play saxophone, paint, play video games, watch a movie, play sports, calla friend. Do something to keep your mind going in a positive direction until you can identify and treat the cause.
Please, tell someone if you or someone you know may be dealing with self harm or thoughts of suicide.
Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.
Love, A Schizophrenic.