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Should we be grouping Self-Harm and Suicide?
Self-harm and suicide are often grouped together.
In some ways, that makes sense.
Both involve suffering.
Both deserve serious attention.
Both can occur in the same person.
But they are not the same thing.
Over the years, I've worked with many people who engaged in self-harm and had no desire to die.
In fact, some of them were doing the exact opposite.
They were trying to survive.
For some, self-harm was a way to regulate overwhelming emotions.
For others, it was a way to convert emotional pain into physical pain that felt more manageable.
And for some, it was a desperate attempt to feel something when they felt emotionally numb.
None of this means self-harm is harmless.
People who self-harm are at elevated risk for future suicidal behavior.
But risk factors are not motivations.
When we automatically assume that every act of self-harm is a suicide attempt, we can misunderstand what the person is actually trying to communicate.
And when people feel misunderstood, they often become less willing to talk openly about what they are experiencing.
The goal is not to minimize self-harm.
The goal is to understand it accurately.
Because effective support begins with understanding the function of a behavior, not simply reacting to its appearance.
Self-harm and suicide often overlap.
But they are not the same thing.
And understanding the difference can help us respond more effectively to both.
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