Healing Self -Injury

Welcome to Healing Self-Injury, a place that promotes understanding and support for people who live with Self-Inflicted Violence (SIV) as well as for those who care about them.

SIV is most often described as cutting, punching, burning, or picking at one’s own body but includes other forms aw well. While it is violent in nature, it is violence as an act of self-defense, self-preservation (for discussion of the impact of language on this topic, please see “What’s In a Name?”).

What you will find on this site reflects 20 years of thinking about self-injury, mostly through the publication of The Cutting Edge: A Newsletter for People Living With Self-Inflicted Violence. I encourage you to return here and find connection in the writings and art created by people who have lived with SIV.

This is a time of great change. The Cutting Edge is approaching its final issue (which will be mailed in spring of 2008). This web site is meant to continue the dialogue, information, support, discussion and, most importantly, understanding and connection formerly provided by the newsletter. I welcome you to write to me, or to post comments to the blog.

New articles on SIV are now available for downloading (see "Resoucres"), including two introductory fact sheets (one for people who self-injure, the other for those who care about them) and several longer documents. These writings are works in progress and your ideas about them are welcome

There will be many additional writings, resources and art posted in the near future. I urge you to check back oftern and let me know if you find the additions useful. Please contact me with suggestions about what might be helpful to you.

Ruta Mazelis, Editor of The Cutting Edge