the most horrifying thing I've read in a long time

"Over a 13-month period, Nilsen scratched and scratched, despite her best efforts not to and despite her horror at the growing lesions she saw in the mirror. At the time, Nilsen says, she had no idea that the damage she was doing to herself was more than skin deep, but she ended up in a Boston emergency room with brain tissue protruding through a hole she'd scratched in her skull."

Follow the link for a photo of the x-ray of her skull with a surprisingly enormous hole in it. I'd put it here for those of you without subscription access, but I'm not sure you'd thank me.