A History of Self-Harm in Britain

Transcription

1 A History of Self-Harm in Britain

2 Mental Health in Historical Perspective Series editors: Matthew Smith, Senior Lecturer, Director of Research (History) and Deputy Head of School of Humanities, University of Strathclyde, UK Catharine Coleborne, Professor of History, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Waikato, New Zealand Editorial Board: Dr Allan Beveridge (Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS and University of Edinburgh, book reviews editor History of Psychiatry ) Dr Gayle Davis (University of Edinburgh, former book reviews editor of History of Psychiatry ) Dr Erika Dyck (University of Saskatchewan) Dr Alison Haggett (University of Exeter) Dr David Herzberg (University of Buffalo) Professor Peregrin Horden (Royal Holloway) Professor Mark Jackson (University of Exeter and Wellcome Trust) Dr Vicky Long (Glasgow Caledonian University) Professor Andreas-Holger Maehle (Durham University) Professor Joanna Moncrieff (University College London) Associate Professor Hans Pols (University of Sydney) Professor John Stewart (Glasgow Caledonian University) Professor Akihito Suzuki (Keio University) Professor David Wright (McGill University) Covering all historical periods and geographical contexts, this series explores how mental illness has been understood, experienced, diagnosed, treated and contested. It publishes works that engage actively with contemporary debates related to mental health and, as such, are of interest not only to historians, but also mental health professionals, service users, and policy makers. With its focus on mental health, rather than just psychiatry, the series endeavours to provide more patient-centred histories. Although this has long been an aim of health historians, it has not been realised, and this series aims to change that. This series emphasises interdisciplinary approaches to the field of study, and encourages titles which stretch the boundaries of academic publishing in new ways. Titles in the series: Sarah Marks and Mat Savelli PSYCHIATRY IN COMMUNIST EUROPE Chris Millard A HISTORY Of SELF-HARM IN BRITAIN A Genealogy of Cutting and Overdosing Forthcoming titles: Alison Haggett A HISTORY OF MALE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS IN BRITAIN, Marjory Harper THE PAST AND PRESENT OF MIGRATION AND MENTAL HEALTH

3 A History of Self-Harm in Britain A Genealogy of Cutting and Overdosing Chris Millard Wellcome Trust Medical Humanities Research Fellow, Queen Mary, University of London, UK Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit

4 Chris Millard 2015 The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act Open access: Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. DOI: / E-PDF: ISBN ISBN This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

5 For Nathaniel and Lucas Rushton, my extraordinary nephews, with love.

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7 Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction: Self-Harm from Social Setting to Neurobiology 1 1 Early Twentieth-Century Self-Harm: Cut Throats, General and Mental Medicine 40 2 Communicative Self-Harm: War, NHS and Social Work 62 3 Self-Harm Becomes Epidemic: Mental Health (1959) and Suicide (1961) Acts 97 4 Self-Harm as a Result of Domestic Distress Self-Harm as Self-Cutting: Inpatients and Internal Tension 154 Conclusion: The Politics of Self-Harm: Social Setting and Self-Regulation 192 Notes 212 Bibliography 244 Index 263 vii

8 OPEN Acknowledgements Thanks to Rhodri Hayward for the huge amount of intellectual and practical assistance over the past 6(ish) years. I could not have hoped for a better supervisor and then colleague. Thanks to Mark Jackson and Roger Cooter for their searching and constructive input throughout the process also. Thanks to the Wellcome Trust for funding and beyond (with special thanks to Lauren Couch, Dan O Connor, Chloe Sheppard and Nils Fietje, the people at the Trust from whom I have had most assistance, discussion and collaboration). Thanks to Queen Mary, University of London, and especially the Centre for the History of the Emotions, directed by Thomas Dixon, for providing such a conducive environment for research, teaching and collaboration. Thanks to Miri Rubin, Head of the School of History at QMUL for her constant enthusiasm and encouragement. Thanks to Katherine Angel, Elle Betts, Sarah Chaney, Thomas Dixon, Daniel de Groff, Bonnie Evans, Michael Gledhill, Åsa Jansson, Joel Morley, Rebecca O Neal, Tom Quick, Lisa Renken, Emma Sutton, Jennifer Wallis and Tiffany Watt-Smith for reading parts of this, or other work, helping with mock funding interviews, for giving me many ideas, steering me away from excesses of theory and of detail, and generally helping me out. Thanks also to Mark Jenner and Joanna de Groot, at the University of York, who first introduced me to new ways of thinking through history, sexuality and medicine. To my parents for their continued and consistent support and interest. To my dear sister, Lizzie Rushton, and brother-in-law, Matthew Rushton, for everything. To my friends, especially: Ben Allcock, David Anderson, Jo Davey, Danni Haughan, Adam Hewitt, Tim Holmes, Adam Jamieson, Angus Macdonald, Rich Sunley, Will Turner and Joe Turrent, for their help, support, company, humour and loyalty over many years. Thanks to my editor at Palgrave Macmillan, Jen McCall, and also to Jade Moulds, who together have steered me through this production process. Thanks to the two anonymous reviewers who have immeasurably improved the manuscript. Thanks also to Matthew Smith for viii

9 Acknowledgements ix insightful editorial comments and provoking me to think further about the present tense. Finally, to Rebecca O Neal, for support, ideas, discussion, inspiration and most of all, happiness: thank you. This book was funded by Wellcome Trust Grant No /Z/09/Z. Many thanks to the Lothian Health Service Archives, Edinburgh, for permission to quote from their records. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit