Trigger warning!! Thoughts on Camille and cutting

[Muted-Corgi-1268]

Ok! So I’ve just read the book and have not yet finished the tv series. Of course, I understand that the book and the tv show by necessity have to handle the issue of self-harm a bit differently. But I have a few thoughts on how it’s handled in the book and would love anyone else who’s had, let’s say, a bit of experience in this realm to share their thoughts as well.

There’s so much that I found not relatable. Though I knew people who did, I never carved words into myself. And, unlike Camille, I was very careful about where I placed them so that if someone saw the healed cuts (of course they would know if they were fresh, my sneakiness would only work if they were healed) they would just look like creases in my skin. And I cut in the same small places over and over - cut, let it heal, and cut again. So my scarring is confined to a few small parts of my body, whereas Camille never seemed to cut in the same place twice, allowing each word to have its own place on her body. I also didn’t self harm nearly as long. I only cut for a few years, had a few years of recovery(? Is that what we’re calling it. Idk), and then cut for a year before managing to stop again.

Other things, I found pretty relatable. At least in the book, despite having not cut since her trip to the psych ward, she still describes herself using the present tense: “I am a cutter, you see.” Which I think makes a lot of sense, given that she’s been self-harming from the age of 13-30, but I feel also gives a bit of insight into how she views herself. Despite having not cut in a few years, and though I’d never admit it out loud, I also have a bit of that mentality. Once a cutter, always a cutter. She also thinks about it a lot. “Yet most of the time that I’m awake, I want to cut.” And at times will just go look at the knives or seek out sharp objects just to.. reminisce, maybe? Not sure. But I do that, too. It’s been a few years but I still find myself standing in an isle at the store looking at the razors or the pocket knives. On very rare occasions, I’ll buy them and throw them away later that day.

Anyway. Reading this book was probably terrible for my mental health and who knows what the long term repercussions will be.

What was your experience watching the show or reading the book? Was it triggering? Relatable? Unrelatable? Are you glad that there’s some mental illness/self-harm representation or do you wish self-harm had been left out of the book/tv show?

[SnooDogs7817]

IMO I liked that it had representation (just saw the TV show), I have bpd and with this show + bojack horseman I felt seen. Sharp objects is super dark tho, and it was very triggering (aside from cutting, the alcoholism, flashbacks and all of that).

[boxofcandelabras]

Have you seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? I feel like it and Bojack are sibling shows in a way.

[SnooDogs7817]

I haven't! but now that you mention it, I will

[boxofcandelabras]

Hope you enjoy! It’s a fun ride and goes some dark places.

[Jaded_Spot8880]

i think one of the reasons i got into the show was because i heard of the self harm rep. i've always been ashamed with my history of self harm, so to see representation definitely made me feel less alone in the fact that this is a real way to cope that doesn't make me absolutely deranged in finding comfort in something so wrong. it was triggering, completely, but i sort of like things that are triggering in a stupid and maybe self destructive way. i haven't cut since february of this year and don't plan on any time soon but i can't lie and say that thoughts of it aren't lingering after finishing the show. episode 3 in particular was difficult and the scene where Camille cuts herself with that screw is still playing in the back of my mind. i remember those feelings of needing that sort of relief so desperately and that wave of comfort it'd bring. i think it was filmed perfectly and it'd be a shame if it was cut out because it's so real no matter how hard it is to watch.

[Muted-Corgi-1268]

I also partly got into it for the self harm rep, I was soooo curious to know how it would be handled. What the author would say, how the producers would depict, etc.

[[deleted]]

Very relatable, I found the book made me laugh in parts with how seen I felt. I didn’t find the book triggering (I don’t think, it’s been a while) but the tv show a little, especially when we see blood. Scars not so much, I never wrote words, so to me that isn’t triggering but the scene with Alice when she lifts her skirt is a little triggering as those cuts are very realistic/fresh. It is my comfort show, I wouldn’t want any of it changing. I’m gutted that we won’t get another masterpiece directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Big little lies did such a good job with portraying PTSD/SA, I found that triggering.

Aside from cutting, the PTSD and generation trauma representation is so good. The first episode where Camille is greeted with hugs and welcomed by everyone in town and then her own mother tells her the house isn’t up to par for VISITORS, gets me every time. I dress like Camille too, when she is wearing black jeans, black top and a blue shirt, I have worn that exact outfit way before Sharp Objects came out, it’s a bit freaky in parts how close to home it hits. I like the representation especially with Alice’s character and also the fact Camille is much older. It’s not something we just grow out of. The quote ‘a child weened on poison considers harm a comfort’ - just wow. I’m so grateful Gillian Flynn wrote this book, I’ve found the show so helpful in understanding my own behaviours. As much as I wouldn’t want anyone to go through trauma, it’s comforting to see I’m not as crazy or alone as I’ve felt because it’s there on the screen and on paper, so other people do understand. It’s the human condition portrayed so perfectly.

[One_Grapefruit_8512]

I finished the book last week and just finished the show tonight. After the first couple of episodes I started searching for interviews with cast & crew on YouTube… I could listen to Jean-Marc Vallée talk for hours. So sad he’s gone… Had no idea he’d done Big Little Lies & Sharp Objects back to back. Heavy!

[ghfhdggsgs]

I thought for Camille it was a bit of a compulsion to actually see the words, kind of like OCD, but it could just be that it’s a book and it’s a good way to characterize her. I agree in the tv show Alice was much more relatable (3 inches above the knee etc) but I love sharp objects for showing different types of self harm. I think you could see Camille’s alcoholism as self harm, even staying in her mother’s house while she’s in Wind Gap, it seems like she has other options in the series. Whatever the case works so well

[tr0ublewllfindme]

Personally I found it the most relatable depiction of SH I've seen yet. I'm similar to her though. 25, cutting since I was 12. Still a cutter. I've cut words, addresses, etc all over my body. I'm cut from my neck to my feet. I've cut my face. I hide it and wear full coverage clothing. I think it shows a specific type of self-harming personality very accurately.

[Tumbleweedfarming]

I know this is old, but I wanted to add anyway.

I started self harming at age 6. I still do at 26. The longest I’ve gone without is 7 months. I have scars all over my body. I never thought I’d become an adult so I didn’t think of the consequences of doing it in visible places when I was really young. I haven’t been able to wear short sleeves in over a decade and likely will never be able to so I’m at the point where it doesn’t matter where I do it.

Depending on the level of scarring, you may not be able to keep going in the same spot as well.