Not to be contradictory, but I found a research paper recently that had findings that "Self-mutilation and suicide attempts are only partially overlapping behaviours, although both are predicted by mood disorder diagnosis and harm avoidance. Self-mutilation has a particularly strong association with bipolar disorder. Clinicians need to think of bipolar disorder, not borderline personality disorder, when assessing an individual who has a history of self-mutilation."

You can find the abstract online if you're curious - it's a fairly easy-to-read summary. Of course, this is only one study, but an interesting result, especially since it's contrary to almost everything else I've seen. Bottom line, though, getting a professional opinion is a good idea!

Citation info:
Self-mutilation and suicide attempts: relationships to bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, temperament and character
Peter R. Joyce, Katrina J. Light, Sarah L. Rowe, & C. Robert Cloninger
Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
March 2010, Vol. 44, No. 3 , Pages 250-257