Definition of Dependence:
de*pend*ence
noun

Dependency is a theme that is recurring throughout Gruesome Playground Injuries both in Kayleen and Doug's relationship and with their actions. Kayleen is dependent on cutting herself and alcohol to feel better about her life but she also strives for independence. Doug is dependent on courageous acts of injury to himself to both meet Kayleen and to make him feel better about his life. Also, the fact that Doug continuously asks Kayleen to touch his injuries because he believes she can heal him is showing his need for her to "heal" him, whether it is to heal him physically or mentally.

A common theme in Gruesome Playground Injuries is injury. Both Kayleen and Doug deal with their troubles through some form of self harm and for different reasons. The definition of Self Mutilation:
Self-Mu*ti*la*tion
noun
1. the mutilation of oneself, especially as a symptom of mental or emotional disturbance.

Self harm can be used as a means of releasing tension and being in a temporary state of calm. It's usually done as a result of the inability to control deep emotional pain. Examples of self harm are cutting, burning, poisoning, abusing drugs/alcohol, breaking bones,  biting, pulling out hair, and really anything that causes pain to oneself physically. Physical injury can distract a person from their emotions and also give them a sense of control when there is seemingly none. 

Both Kayleen and Doug suffer from repeated injuries that they both acknowledge were caused by their own actions. Everyone goes through something in life that is uncontrollable. For people who have a tendency of using self harm as a vessel for solving emotional problems, self harm is a way to controlling in a world they feel is out of control.

Love is quite possibly the strongest emotion that humans can have. Love, used as a verb or a noun, is a human emotion that is defined as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person or thing. Love can also be defined as affection, sacrifice, sexual desire, pleasure and more. Love is a basic need for our own health and we search for it everyday in the things that we do. In Chinese culture the words 'I love you' carry a deep sense of responsibility that goes beyond a hug and a kiss. 

Doug not only tells Kayleen that he loves her but he comes to visit her when she gets hurt as Kayleen does for him although Kayleen doesn't express her love in words. Doug is always asking Kayleen to come away with him yet they never begin a relationship because she is always either in a relationship already or not willing. The question of love then becomes whether or not Kayleen is able to accept it.

Doug believes that Kayleen has the power to heal him with her hands. Doug constantly asks Kayleen to touch him when he goes through an injury but Kayleen relents most of the time. She only touches him in the beginning of the play when they are young and in the end, the last time Kayleen comes to see Doug. It seems that Kayleen doesn't believe that she has the power to heal him.

Reiki is a therapy that has been used for hundreds of years to heal people with the energy of touch. It was found and performed by Dr Mikao Usui who was a Japanese Buddhist monk born in 1865. He traveled to the holy mountains of Koriyama in Japan after being asked by a student at a christian school about how Jesus healed people just by the power of touch. Here he fasted and meditated for 21 days and became enlightened. He began teaching the healing power of Reiki to others and is now a very respected practice today.

Kayleen may very well have had the power to heal Doug but whether or not Kayleen believes that she is worthy of the gift of healing is another question entirely. 

[ˌsɛlfdɪˈstrʌkʃ(ə)n]

NOUN

TRIGGER WARNING 
........ Self harm 

Kayleen uses a razor blade to cut her skin, Kayleen often does this throughout the play after having to deal with difficult situations in life. Kayleen was left by her mother to be with her father when she was young, which can be very challenging. Kayleen claim to feel is a release of energy after the act and It also puts them in control of things that they believe they have not control over.

Doug has many accidents in Gruesome Playground Injuries that may seem accidental but are really a part of something much more. All or most of the accidents that happen to Doug in the play are because of his own careless actions and Doug is one who carries himself as a courageous Evel Knievel. Kayleen and Doug only meet through their injuries, he knows that Kayleen will come to visit him every time something happens to him and vice versa. Therefore Doug and Kayleen's injuries can be seen as ritualistic in that they are repeated for a purpose.