Self-inflicted wounds is a specific term associated with soldiers to describe non-lethal injuries inflicted in order to obtain early dismissal from combat. This differs from the common definition of self-harm, as damage is inflicted for a specific secondary purpose. A broader definition of self-harm might also include those who inflict harm on their bodies by means of disordered eating.The older literature has used several different terms. For this reason research in the past decades has inconsistently focused on self-harming behavior without and with suicidal intent (including suicide attempts) with varying definitions leading to inconsistent and unclear results.Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been listed in section 2 of the DSM-5-TR under the category "other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention". While NSSI is not a separate mental disorder, the DSM-5-TR adds a diagnostic code for the condition in-line with the ICD. The disorder is defined as intentional self-inflicted injury without the intent of dying by suicide. Criteria for NSSI include five or more days of self-inflicted harm over the course of one year without suicidal intent, and the individual must have been motivated by seeking relief from a negative state, resolving an interpersonal difficulty, or achieving a positive state.A common belief regarding self-harm is that it is an attention-seeking behavior; however, in many cases, this is inaccurate. Many self-harmers are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behavior, leading them to go to great lengths to conceal their behavior from others.
They may offer alternative explanations for their injuries, or conceal their scars with clothing. Self-harm in such individuals may not be associated with suicidal or para-suicidal behavior. People who self-harm are not usually seeking to end their own life; it has been suggested instead that they are using self-harm as a coping mechanism to relieve emotional pain or discomfort or as an attempt to communicate distress.Studies of individuals with developmental disabilities (such as intellectual disability) have shown self-harm being dependent on environmental factors such as obtaining attention or escape from demands. Some individuals may have dissociation harboring a desire to feel real or to fit into societys rules. Signs and symptoms
Eighty percent of self-harm involves stabbing or cutting the skin with a sharp object, sometimes breaking through the skin entirely. However, the number of self-harm methods are only limited by an individuals inventiveness and their determination to harm themselves; this includes burning, self-poisoning, alcohol abuse, self-embedding of objects, hair pulling, bruising/hitting ones self, scratching to hurt ones self, knowingly abusing over-the-counter or prescription drugs, and forms of self-harm related to anorexia and bulimia. The locations of self-harm are often areas of the body that are easily hidden and concealed from the detection of others. As well as defining self-harm in terms of the act of damaging the body, it may be more accurate to define self-harm in terms of the intent, and the emotional distress that the person is attempting to deal with. Neither the DSM-IV-TR nor the ICD-10 provide diagnostic criteria for self-harm.