Cutting

A great book

This book helped me to understand alot of things about myself. For years i would hurt myself and not understand why. I highly recommend this book for anyone who self mutilates or anyone who wants to really understand it. The author uses examples from his own patients that you can really relate to. It's a great book.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

i have been a cutter for almost two years and i have been through counceling and meds. it helped for awhile but then i turned back to cutting. those of you who gave the book a bad review who are 16 or 15..whatever. i am 16 too but people cut for many differant reasons. just because this book did not help you doesnt mean it wont help others. so really think before you give it a bad review. everybody is differant and cut for MANY differant reasons. i just ordered this book and im very excited to read it, i think even looking at cutting from a differant point of view will help people understand more. please feel free to email me with questions or opinions.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wasn't too great of a read

This book was extreming disapointing when I first picked it up and read it. I had to FORCE myself to finish(actually I stopped 75% of it) It wasn't to wonderful of a read, pretty boring, and I disagree with his insisting that self injurying is the result of childhood trauma and that every cutter cannot feel the pain and are in a somewhat dissociative state(or wholely in one). He states ALL cutters have been abused either sexually, physically, or emotional(and he empathsizes servely..) which isn't always the case. He forgets about men who injury themselves(even if it is more commonly found amongst girls) What also got to me with the whole past trauma episodes - not all cutters are traumatized when they were a child and their self destructive behavior is a result of present day situations during life. I was extremely disapointed with his lack of research and biased opinions. If you are looking a wonderful read on self mutilation buy the book 'A Bright Red Scream: Self Mutilation and the Language of Pain' by Marliee Strong. A really informative book. I'd give it 5 stars.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cant wait to read this book!

I have been a 'cutter' for almosrt 4 years now. It has been one rocky rollercoaster for me through the years. So many people tell me to get help and that I need it and that I know I do too but that doesnt mean I want it. Yeahh it kills me to hurt the people around me...but they dont know the pain I am going through either. I want to read this book because it seems like it will give me a better understanding of my problem and it will maybe give me hope and will to stop. I wanted to read the reviews first before I bought it. Im gonna buy it now. Thanks soo much to the author who wrote this book and is actually out there acknowledging that this problem is spreading world wide! Thank you soo much!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

my name is none of your buisnes

i am upset with some of the other reviews. i thought the book was pretty informative. i could never tell you why i cut myself. i cried about it for years. the fact that my own family members couldn't look me in the eye because they were afraid of me. it scared them because they couldn't understand why one would want to inflict pain on themselves. it was incredibly discouraging because i didn't understand it either but i couldn't get away from myself. the book gives me hope.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Completely Incorrect...

This book was truly dissapointing to me. From experience, I know what cutting is like. It is not done in 'a trance-like state'. It is done in a perfectly clear-minded state, and the ultimate goal is not as the author says. Pain is not the goal, it is the release from emotional pain. An escape from the wounds of depression is the far more common reason to resort to this action. I think the author has no idea what it is like to cut, and a book this personal should be written from experience. It would present a more realistic and understanable veiw for the reader.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent resource

Dr. Levonkron seems to have unending reserves of patience, understanding, and knowledge for self-injurers and those who love them. I was comforted and empowered by his book. As the friend of a self-injurer, Cutting pointed out to me the character traits she needs from me, and how I should interpret her behavior. An excellent book that should be read by parents, teachers, teenagers, and mental health professionals.

Very Easy Read

I read this book because of my daughter. I am not a cutter but she is. Before I read the book I thought "how could she do this to herself. I used to make her promise me that she wouldn't hurt herself anymore. The book did desensitize me in a way to cutting...it had desensitize me so that I could help her. I now have a new perspective on her cutting and can talk about it openly with her. My biggest pet peeve is when people tell me that she does it for attention. This has nothing to do with attention, this has to do with real psycological pain. And it is my job, as a parent, to give my daugther the tools to deal with that pain and alternatives to cutting that give her the same release.

Good Overall Information About Cutting

I originally bought this book for my own use in trying to understand why I cut and some of the ways to avoid cutting. I ended up using this as a key resouce in writing a speech to give and most recently, I decided to be more open with my folks about some of the challenges I face. This book is a great one for a cutter to read, but also to give to people that care about you as an insight to who you are. My folks are know much more understanding and have a better idea of some of the things I struggle with.

Waste

I know how it is to deal with the feeling of cutting and this book is nothing close to it.It's nothing but a bunch of opinions from the authors.Cutting has to deal with emotions and you clearly know what you're doing when you do it. Save you're money if you're expecting some sort of answer.

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I think teens who SI should read this book. I know from experience it's NOT a good thing to do. Teens should read this book, because they'll learn how to cope with the pressure. It's sad to see someone do that at a young age. Luckily, in this book, it tells what could happen if they keep cutting themselves. Hopefully, after they read this book, they'll get help and stop.

Great!!

This book helped me and my parents understand this disorder alot more. Very well written and quite easy to understand.

This is a powerful novel.

I loved reading this book even though it honestly wasn't the lovliest. It deals with the reality of someone with this disease and the hardships they go through along with it. I admire Levenkron for being honest and clearly stating his opinions on the matter.

Hope to read this book soon!!!

From just reading the other comments it seems like such a deep and truley great book. I can't wait until i find the time to read it. I'm thirteen years old and i have cutt before and still am going through it at this very point in time. I hope by reading this book it will help me get through what i'm going through right now. I truely need some inpiration to help myself along the way! it's been hard since the begining and i don't know how it's going to be frome here. i never wanted to start cutting it just kind of happened. Hopefully this will help me. thank you!!!!!!!

Highly Recomended

Being a cutter I was able to relate to some of the people in this book and find a way to stop. It explains the illness of Self Injury how and why people do it. If you want help or want to help someone who cuts this book will help you find a way. It a great read from beginning to end.

Honest and competent

I've been reading a lot on this subject and found that Levenkron's work is one of the most clear and helpfull books on the matter. Many of his ideas proved to work in real life situations. This book is a real hit for someone who is looking for understanding of cutting and needs to know how to react to it.

A Psychology Student and former 'Cutter'

This book presents and interesting light on a subject that many people, and consequently their therapist really doesn't address. Cutting is usually as a symptom of something else, rather than a problem in it's own right. While I agreed with much of what was said, the style was very pedantic, and the feeling of 'I did this first!' was a real let down. Useful in some cases and ideas, writing and a lack of depth keep it from being great

Very Informative

I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. I can relate to a lot of it. I now have a better understanding of why I cut and that I am not crazy or alone. There are others out there who suffer from this.

The BEST counseling tool i have found

I am a school guidance counselor and last year I worked with a 15 year-old female self-mutilator. I followed the 'instructions' of Steven Levenkron and had surprisingly wonderful results with my student. Together, we were able to get her behavior under control and I would STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with a self mutilator. It is an excellent resource, written in a manner that is easy to read and easy to follow. I thank God for this book and urge any counselor in general to read it.

'Cutting' Shed Light on My Former Addiction that Therapy Did Not

My 16 year old daughter was recently admitted to the adolescent psychiatric unit in my home state. I needed answers to the reasons why she was cutting. I am a recovered self-harmer and have not cut myself for 10 years. I was incested and sexually abused as a child, but I knew that my daughter had not been and was very curious to see what the author had to say about self-injury. I learned that there is not a specific diagnosis listed in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic Manual psychiatrists use for diagnosing illnesses) for people who injure themselves. I also learned that the medical/mental health community AND society in general needs to be more sensitive to this phenomenon that happens to 1 in 250 girls! The book has also launched me into more research about the subject in order to lobby for my daughter and other young girls with this disorder. I am researching grant writing, and as a former mental health worker and CNA, CRMA, I am going to find a way to establish resources, education and hopefully a long term care facility in my home state for girls and women suffering from this specific disorder. There are many other coping skills that can be learned instead of self-injury. I am very hopeful after reading 'Cutting' that I can begin to assist in my daughter's healing, as well as other young people who feel the need to hurt themselves.