A Bright Red Scream: Self-mutilation and the Language of Pain

by Marilee Strong (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $8.31

  Self-mutilation is a behavior so shocking that it is almost never discussed. Yet estimates are that upwards of eight million Americans are chronic self-injurers. They are people who use knives, razor blades, or broken glass to cut themselves. Their numbers include the actor Johnny Depp, Girl Interrupted author Susanna Kaysen, and the late Princess Diana.Mistakenly viewed as suicide attempts or senseless masochism--even by many health professionals-- cutting is actually a complex means of coping with emotional pain. Marilee Strong explores this hidden epidemic through case studies, startling new research from psychologists, trauma experts, and neuroscientists, and the heartbreaking insights of cutters themselves--who range from troubled teenagers to middle-age professionals to grandparents. Strong explains what factors lead to self-mutilation, why cutting helps people manage overwhelming fear and anxiety, and how cutters can heal both their internal and external wounds and break the self-destructive cycle. A Bright Red Scream is a groundbreaking, essential resource for victims of self-mutilation, their families, teachers, doctors, and therapists.

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $3.25

  An investigation of why so many people deliberately hurt themselves and what can be done to help them. The illness outed on a global scale when Princess Diana admitted hurting herself deliberately, and continues to be practised mainly by middle-class women who start in their teens and self-harm throughout their lives. Most cutters are women who have been emotionally, sexually or physically abused as children, but Marilee Strong's research shows that self-mutilation also appears in other groups. There are powerful first-person stories, in which cutters describe their ritualistic methods and somewhat addictive cravings for seeing their own blood. Though research is in its infancy, therapists say there are now promising treatments - from medication to intensive psychotherapy - for the millions of cutters . Strong reveals what the afflicted and those close to them can do to start a process of healing.

• New

  Paperback
  2005

  $12.22

  As groundbreaking as REVIVING OPHELIA and Hope Edelman's MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS, A BRIGHT RED SCREAM is a compelling investigation of why so many people deliberately hurt themselves and what can be done to help them. This is an illness that was outed on a global scale when Princess Diana admitted hurting herself deliberately, and it continues to be practised mainly by middle-class women who start in their teens and self-harm throughout their lives. Most cutters are women who have been emotionally, sexually, or physically abused as children, but Strong's research shows that self-mutilation appears in other groups. There are powerful first-person stories, in which cutters describe their ritualistic methods and somewhat addictive cravings for seeing their own blood. Though research is in its infancy, therapists say there are now promising treatments -- from medication to intensive psychotherapy -- for the millions of 'cutters'. Strong reveals what the afflicted and those close to them can do to start a process of healing.