What's Self-Harm?

Self-Harm? Is that like Self-Injury?

People use different terms for self-injury; SI, SH, DSH (Deliberate Self Harm), SIB (Self Injurious Behaviour), Self Mutilation, Cutting; some people even include self-injury when they say 'parasuicide'. Hospitals and Doctors might use different words, but whatever words we use, are we talking about the same thing?

LifeSIGNS feels that language is important when professionals are talking about self-injury, and talking to people who self-injure, but of course, we're happy for people who self-injure to use whatever words and phrases they feel comfortable with. If you consider yourself a 'self-harmer' rather than a 'person who self-injures' then that's fine!

At LifeSIGNS, we talk about self-injury rather than self-harm because we see self-harm as a larger concept, and LifeSIGNS focuses on the narrower idea of self-injury.


Read More and see the Self-Harm Map picture