" According to this way of thinking, self-mutilation may be not so much self-punishment as it is a way to punish the rejecting mother—even if the wounds are kept hidden—because an internalized mother remains inside long after the infant recognizes that self and "other" are two separate entities. In fact, because self and other, inside and outside, remain hopelessly confused for cutters, victim and perpetrator can't really be distinguished from each other. "

― Marilee Strong , A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain