I believe that it is an addiction. To me, an addiction is something you find it difficult or impossible to surrender. Self-harm to many is this. Even once you consider yourself 'Self-Harm Free' it is/will always be on your mind. When you find yourself in a situation similar to that that you used to self-harm over you'll consider it again. Whether you do it or not isn't relevant.
The need to do it is there for ages and depending on the level of addiction you may need professional help to escape it - much like an 'official' addiction like alcohol or drugs.
According to someone I've spoken to, in his professional opinion Self-Harm would be an addiction because you get the same rush and the same high from self-harm as you can from elicit drugs.
But yeah; thats just my experience and my opinion. I think mainly it depends on how much you rely on self-harm and what for as to whether you can call it an addiction which is what makes it a separate catagory from elicit drugs or alcohol.
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