ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the addictive nature of acts of violence, both against others and against the self. It looks at both the symbolic and physical significance of the marks left by violence within toxic couples, and the self-harm that mirrors this. The chapter discusses how addictive states of mind and body, including self-harm, substance and alcohol abuse, play an important role not only in the creation of violence, but also within destructive partnerships. The metaphors of 'love as a drug' and being 'addicted to love' speak powerfully to romantic conceptions that link destruction and sexual union. The chapter explores the addictive quality of the assaults by intimate partners on one another and how the bruises and marks are a kind of language that has important evidential and symbolic significance. It illustrates how the use of substances, including skunk cannabis and alcohol, can tip the balance and destroy the apparently 'safe haven' of perverse and violent fantasies which are then enacted.
