Cutting and Self-Mutilation - NPR's Information

I was listening to some old NPR last night, from back in 2005. And apparently self-mutilation has been happening in human beings since the days of Ancient Greece. I looked this up only because one woman in her forties had said to me, quite matter-of-factly, "When I was a kid, no one would have cut herself. It's just not something you would do. If someone was stressed and she cut herself, we'd've been weirded out and would be like, 'Go read a book.'" Convinced this was incorrect, I looked it up.

In the nineteenth century, apparently two American doctors noted the phenomenon of women all over Europe puncturing themselves with sewing needles. They called them "needle girls" and said they were probably hysterical. Interesting. Here is the transcript. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4697319 Here, more interesting if you have time to listen, is the story with the real voices. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=4697319&m=4697329 Listen to the victim of self-mutilation. Hear her logic. There is a very strong logic to cutting oneself.

Lihua