According to the
WIKIPAEDIA online encyclopedia...
Parasuicide refers to a suicidal gesture or a suicide attempt that does not result in death.
This is RIDICULOUS...
A suicidal act that
does not end in death (a completed suicide) is a failed suicide.
To say that a suicidal
act that does not end in death (a completed suicide) is either a suicide attempt or a suicidal
gesture really is ridiculous - it can't be both!!!
There is a whole world
of difference between these two actions.
A suicide
attempt is a deliberate attempt to terminate oneself – to bring one's life to an end. The intention is
to die...
A suicidal gesture
is just that - a gesture that lacks the all-important intent to die and may be 'staged'
to appear like a failed suicide attempt. In other words. suicidal gestures are acts of deliberate
self-harm.
Having said that
there is a whole world of difference between those of us who deliberately physically self-harm and those of us who die by
suicide. Self harmers are not the same as those of us who die by suicide. Although sometimes both have the same end.
Nor are self-harmers
the same as those whose continued existence is due to some unforeseen fluke, circumstance or accident which ruined a perfectly
good suicide attempt.
The resulting confusion
created by such ridiculously inconsistent definitions as parasuicide is making it virtually impossible
to research this important field with any certainty of accuracy.
Such a 'blurring' of
definitions can only contribute to the continuing absence of a reliable method of accurate assessment of actual intent to
die.
This 'absence' is resulting
in the misclassification of suicidal and non-suicidal acts. This misclassification is having tragic consequences.
The concept of Parasuicide
is causing deaths
In contrast to PARASUICIDE there is another up-and-coming buzz-word at the moment = PENACIDE.
Pena comes from the Latin
poena that is said to mean punishment or torment. Poena is said to form the root of the word pain.
Cide needs no introduction. We find it in insecticide, homicide, genocide, patricide, matricde, infanticide,
as well as suicide etc. It's meaning is obvious.
Penacide
is said to be the killing of pain itself.
Penacide meaning
the killing of pain, provides us with a very good definition of both suicidal and self-harming activities.
There is an argument that whilst suicide is the actual physical life-ending
action. Penacide is the (DARE I SAY EMOTIONAL) cause.
Again, this
same argument can applied to self-harm penacide can result in both suicide, and physical self-harm.
Unlike PARASUICIDE, the concept of PENACIDE makes sense.
