“Self-harm is when somebody damages or injures their body on purpose. Self-harm is not usually an attempt at committing suicide (but does include suicide), but a way of dealing with deep emotional feelings such as low self-esteem or coping with traumatic events, or situations, such as the death of a loved one, or an abusive relationship. Self-harm is not an illness, it is an expression of personal distress.”
Types of self-harm may include:
Self-harm was one of the many subjects covered in the Somerset Children and Young People Survey (SCYPS), conducted in Spring/Summer 2016. In conjunction with teachers across the county, the survey was commissioned from the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU) by the Somerset Health and Wellbeing in Learning Programme as a way of collecting robust information about young people’s lifestyles. Questions were asked only of students attending Sixth Forms or FE colleges, and just over 1,000 responded.
In summary:
Source: SCYPS/SHEU
Hospital admissions as a result of self-harm in Somerset are significantly higher than the national average (see below). In 2009-12, the crude rate per 100,000 under-18 population was 163 in Somerset compared with 116 for England as a whole.
Updated figures for hospital admissions as a result of self-harm can be found in the Public Health Outcomes Framework profiles.
In 2012/13, across England, there were almost 100,000 self-harm adult inpatient hospital episodes (source: HSCIC). Just over half of these cases (54,700) dealt with by hospitals last year involved existing specialist mental health service users. A further 22,000 resulted in an mental health assessment on the day of admission or later in the year.
A third of self-harm episodes involving mental health service users related to intentional self-poisoning by prescription drugs generally used for treating conditions such as depression, epilepsy and schizophrenia.
Nationally, in contrast to rates of suicide, levels of self-harm are higher among females than men. They are particularly high amongst older teenage girls and young women in their 20s.
In 2015, the nationwide Girls' Attitudes Survey of more than 1,500 girls and young women aged 11 to 21 was commissioned by Girl Guiding. It found that:-
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