We also self-inflict violence, because violence is our only way of relating to the world, to others and to ourselves.

Of all the heartache I will ever know, only some of it will be real. The rest, I will create.

Love is the only wound that feels good and is both self-inflicted and caused by others. I should sell emotional Band-Aids.

Self-inflicted pain has a calming effect; it clears the head, diminishes one’s fascination with the ego, and most important, gives one the sense of having taken some real action against the everyday foolishness of the...