ABSTRACT
The propensity of many so-called borderlines to harm or to threaten to harm themselves is a source of agonizing mystery to those close to them. Professionals, although less mystified by the self-destructive acts of borderline patients, are often no less frustrated by them and frequently no less at a loss in their attempts to help their patients bring these urges under control. In order to understand the association between women, borderline personality disorder, and self-destructive behavior, must first make a distinction among the functions self-injurious behavior serves for the individual, the motives that are ascribed to it, and the response that others make to it. Cutting or burning of the skin inflicts harm on a body that has come to represent a self who deserves to suffer. Hurting is proof of survival in the face of threats to survival, but it also stands as proof of one’s ability to control pain.
