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A common belief regarding self-harm is that it is an attention-seeking behaviour; however, in many cases, this is inaccurate. Many self-harmers are very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behaviour, leading them to go to great lengths to conceal their behaviour 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 behaviour. 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. Alternatively, interpretations based on the supposed lethality of a self-harm may not give clear indications as to its intent: life risking behaviour may have no suicidal intent, whilst seemingly superficial cuts may have been a suicide attempt.
A common belief regarding self-harm is that it is an attention-seeking behaviour