Self injury
Related: mortification of the flesh (see Silas in the Da Vinci Code) - mutilation
Fiction dealing with self-injury: Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981) - Secretary (2002)
Definition
Self-harm (SH) is deliberate injury to one's own body. This injury may be aimed at relieving otherwise unbearable emotions, sensations of unreality and numbness, or for other reasons. Self-harm is generally a social taboo. It is sometimes associated with mental illnesses such as Borderline Personality Disorder, with a history of trauma and abuse, with eating disorders, or with mental traits such as perfectionism. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm [Jul 2005]
Overwhelming feelings
"People report overwhelming feelings of misery, emotional distress and hopelessness which lead them to the apparent solution of inflicting pain on their bodies. To those who are self-harming, cutting serves as a way of owning and controlling the body. When a young woman who cuts herself feels overwhelmed or upset by others and by her own complicated and apparently uncontrollable needs, she can turn and attack her body and through her aggressive action find some comfort and relief." --Fiona Gardner http://directory.google.com/Top/Health/Mental_Health/Disorders/Impulse_Control/Self_Injury/Films
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The Piano Teacher (2001) - Michael Haneke
[Amazon.com]
Director Michael Haneke's adaptation of the novel by Elfriede Jelinek follows the disturbing descent into madness of a middle-aged, sexually repressed piano instructor (Isabelle Huppert), as her experiments with voyeurism and self-mutilation lead to an eventual affair with an attractive young student who mistakes her insanity for affection.
Books
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A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain () - Marilee Strong
[Amazon.com]
"A bright red scream" is how one of the subjects Marilee Strong interviews in this chilling yet compassionate study of self-mutilation describes the sensation of intentionally inflicting pain upon oneself. It is a compulsion that, while shocking and bewildering to most people, affects 2 million or more Americans and countless others around the globe--one of whom, the late Princess Diana, also suffered from the eating disorders that characterize between 35 to 80 percent of all cutters. Rejecting the classic psychiatric wisdom that views self-mutilation as a species of suicidal behavior, Strong links the phenomenon instead to the will to live--often in the face of such overwhelming childhood abuse that the resulting dissociative behaviors are something akin to posttraumatic stress disorder. Strong touches on other issues as well: Why are most cutters women? And is the current fascination with tattooing and piercing, from its most extreme forms in the "alternative" culture to its growing mainstream acceptance, a sublimation of the cutters' instinct? Through interviews with more than 50 self-injurers, Strong tells the moving story not only of their rage and self-punishment, but also of the courageous journey towards reintegration. (The book also contains an introduction by psychiatrist Armando R. Favazza, author of Bodies Under Seige, one of the leading clinical experts on self-mutilation.) --Patrizia DiLucchio for Amazon.com -
Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation (1999) - Steven Levenkron
[Amazon.com]
The psychotherapist whose books (including the novel The Best Little Girl in the World) have illuminated the nature and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anorexia nervosa and bulimia now shines the spotlight on another misunderstood behavioral disorder: self-mutilation. Levenkron begins by advising desensitization to the disturbing wounds, scars and blood-letting patients inflict upon themselves, redirecting focus toward the underlying issues. He likens cutting to OCD in that it is a compulsive act meant to relieve unbearable emotional pain, and to eating disorders in that it is a method of seizing control. Like anorexics, most cutters are girls, unable to express anger toward others, instead turning it against themselves. Levenkron is careful to explain that cutting is not the same as body piercing or tattooing, which reflect "adolescent trendiness," and that cutters are not suicidal, their wounds life-threatening only rarely and accidentally. Cutting is done secretly, "usually in a trancelike state," and "the act of creating pain... or drawing blood, is in itself the goal." Cutters then develop an "addiction" to this method of exchanging physical pain for emotional pain. With many examples from his practice, Levenkron provides clear and comprehensive information on the causes and effective treatments of this mysterious disorder, specific advice for therapists and an encouraging sense of hope for patients and their families. --Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. via Amazon.comDans ma peau / In My Skin (2002) - Marina de Van
Dans ma peau / In My Skin (2002) - Marina de Van [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Amazon.com
Much like Roman Polanski's Repulsion, In My Skin chronicles a young woman's descent into madness. Esther (Marina de Van) accidentally gashes her leg at a party, but instead of being alarmed by the sight of her torn flesh, she becomes fascinated by it. She begins cutting herself, much to the dismay of her best friend (Lea Drucker) and boyfriend (Laurent Lucas), who are unnerved by her refusal to discuss her actions. From there things only get more horrifying, but it's not simply the fact of self-mutilation that makes In My Skin compelling, it's the movie's acute depiction of psychological dislocation. This is not a movie for everyone--the cutting is unsettlingly realistic and vivid--but viewers drawn to portraits of emotional extremity (like, for example, The Piano Teacher) will find In My Skin gripping. Written and directed by de Van, who co-wrote Francois Ozon's 8 Women and Under the Sand. --Bret FetzerDescription
After suffering deep gashes to her leg from an accidental fall, Esther (Marina de Van), a young research analyst, becomes preoccupied with her body and skin, especially her wounds. At first, she merely caresses her arms, pinches her excess skin, or traces the cuts on her legs, but it isn't long before she is carving wounds directly and aggressively into her own body. Her boyfriend (Laurent Lucas) becomes understandably concerned and angry, but his inability to understand forces Esther into reclusion to explore her newfound passion. Increasingly unhinged - to situations of perverse dark humor - Esther seems determined to continue her compulsion until the removal from her own body is complete.Self-harm (SH) is deliberate injury to one's own body. This injury may be aimed at relieving otherwise unbearable emotions, sensations of unreality and numbness, or for other reasons. Self-harm is generally a social taboo. It is sometimes associated with mental illnesses such as Borderline Personality Disorder, with a history of trauma and abuse, with eating disorders, or with mental traits such as perfectionism. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm [Jul 2005]
Tip of the hat to Steven Shaviro via http://www.shaviro.com/Blog/?p=429 [Jul 2005]
see also: 2002 - body horror
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