Kevin's Watch

In the "EarthBlood" thread on the TC forum, Fist and Faith wrote:

Why do some people cut themselves with razors? Or pull their own hair out bit by bit, each time crying about it afterwards?

In the context of the original post, this was an analogy (somebody asked why the Land's Creator would put banes in his own earth.) So my response here is a bit out of context.

At the same time I'm aware that for some readers this is not a mere figure of speech; and I've also met at least one social worker on the Watch, whose clients might have had the experience. (As a new reader of the Covenant series I was slow to acknowledge the truly sacred and healing nature of the caamora because of its superficial resemblance to such behaviors; I wasn't fully won over until the end of TPTP.)

Here is the URL to a most illuminating and helpful website, compiled by and for people who hurt themselves (and wish to learn to cope without doing so) and those who care about them.

palace.net/~llama/psych/injury.html

Wow! Thank you, Durris! Great site to know about!

Interesting website. Thanks.

I knew this guy, he dated my sister, really loved her, sang out in front of the house to her playing guitar late at night & all that good stuff.

He used to drag a knife across his stomach. I mean, he has thick, thick scars all over his front. He looks like he was flailed. They're like a 1/2 centimeter wide and all up & down, diagonal, he's literally got more scars than he has unblemished skin on his stomach and chest.

So I ask him one time, why?, you know, why?

He told me, I just don't feel anything, this is the only thing I can really feel. I do it just so I can feel... something.

That's exactly what Hannah Green says in her novel I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN. When the protagonist burned herself, she wanted to feel something.

Excellent book, but I didn't have that reality to check it against.

*bump*

(with inconspicuous Haruchai solicitude, in case somebody needs to read this who hasn't)