Pain

Tonight I had a significant thought. Self-mutilation, particularly cutting one's self, may be, subconsciously to the cutter, a way of dulling other pain. When someone says or does something that hurts you to the effect of "cuts to the bone," you know that you can bring that feeling to a physical level and actually feel it, and therefore feel the pain fade away over time. Or when something hurts that bad emotionally, you can compare it to, or turn it into, physical pain.