Posted by bob on May 10, 2000, at 21:38:05
In reply to Re: Rage and Cutting, posted by boBB on May 10, 2000, at 21:21:32
> ... Bobs idea of control is a pretty good take on it, but I don't concur with the hint of pathology that goes with his analysis.
Like any "generalized" behavior, there can be any set of valid explanations.
The point I'd like to re-emphasize is that it's the *perception* of control that counts. When I get into self-injury, I have little real control, in any rational meaning of the term, over what I am doing. I cannot stop myself from harming me. Some of my more subtle punishments are so ritualized they're almost beneath my awareness.
Of course, "rational" is not an appropriate frame of reference when I'm in that state of mind anyway. I think that's the hardest thing to try to explain to someone who, for lack of a better expression, can't accept self-injury ... it's just too taboo. It violates what is "rational" -- and those who are so repulsed by it (in my experience) have too much faith in the rationality of the human mind.
cheers,
bob
poster:bob
thread:32887
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000508/msgs/33124.html