I heard an interesting comment the other day. Halloween make up, like these pictures, allows the teenage girl to release her sublimated urges to self harm, leading to a healthy outcome.
Some of course object to these ideas, saying it would only increase the teenager’s desire to self harm. A debate that has raged for eons, like the debate about violent video games. The research has never produced a clear answer to this – do violent video games make the gamer more violent?
Perhaps because there is different impacts on different people.
The difference between fantasy and behaviour.
There is a big difference indeed. In fantasy the Adult becomes aware of the Child ego state urges and expresses them by fantasising violent images. A quite simple process that no one will ever know occurred unless the fantasiser tells about it.
Violent behaviour is much more complex compared to violent fantasy
1. The Adult is aware of the Child feelings
2. The Adult is aware of the legal consequences of violent behaviour and is prepared to take the risk.
3. The person has permission to be physically violent towards others
4. The person lacks empathy and compassion for others pain caused by them
5. When all these conditions are met, violent acts towards others can occur.
Of course the vast majority of people do not have theses conditions met and hence only rarely express violent acts towards others.
Hence teenagers who wont express violent behaviour towards others or self will get release of the self harming urges by dressing up as self harming. Whereas those who have permission to be physically violent to self may experience more propensity to act on their self harming urges by dressing up as a self harmer.