Resumos
This paper analyzes the close relationship between self-mutilation and the problem of limits, understanding the attack on the skin as a condition of possibility for this practice. The skin, which leads us to sensoriality and the first notions of self, acts to protect our individuality and support our interactions with the Other. It contains a premise of integration, constituting a boundary that marks the limits of existence itself. In self-mutilations, the attack on the skin reveals a loss in the the differentiation between subject and object, revealing a confusion in the subject’s limits. The text posits that the recourse of the body, by attacking the skin, in self-mutilations, emerges as an attempt to contain the self in moments when the subject feels at risk of losing their narcissistic integrity.
Key words:
Self-mutilation; limits; skin; differentiation