attempted suicide and parasuicide

attempted suicide and parasuicide

either a genuine attempt at self-destruction which fails, or an ‘attempted SUICIDE’ which is, in fact, feigned, i.e. a parasuicide. The pattern of incidence of attempted suicide is different from ‘true’ suicide, underlining that these are different phenomena. Usually parasuicide is regarded as a ‘cry for help’, with little or no intention to cause self-injury. Nonetheless, the incidence of suicide among those who have previously attempted suicide remains markedly higher than for those with no previously recorded attempt.