EXCLUSIVE: 70% rise in young people referred to NHS in Sheffield for self-harm
A Hallam investigation's found there's been a 70 percent rise in the number of young people in Sheffield being referred to the NHS for self-harm in the past 2 years
Hallam can exclusively reveal the number of young people referred to the NHS for self-harm in Sheffield's shot up by 70 percent in the last 2 years.
The NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Sheffield last year had over 300 self-harm referrals - up from just 177 back in 2014.
Mental health experts in the city say it's partly down to a social pressure for children to present themselves as "far more perfect than they are."
Becky lives in Sheffield and has been self-harming since she was 16 - she told us it was the pressure of exams that got to her:
"After that first instance that I did it, I just couldn't stop and it just got progressively worse and worse. The rush I got from it just became addictive. It was becoming a daily thing just to get me to sleep.
"I just felt a bit like an idiot because I thought, ok I'm using this to cope but it's not helping my problems. So then I was stuck with this problem where I had to wear long sleeves all the time and had to be furtive around my parents and cover things up and hide things from my friends. I really hated it and I didn't see any way out of it.
"I thought that my self-harm problem would magically disappear because my exams had stopped but I still had that problem and I still had to deal with it. I've had a few problems with it again this year and I don't think it's ever going to stop with me. Well, I think it will but at the moment it's not. I'm getting out of it with medication and mindfulness."
Mental health professionals in Sheffield have told us they're seeing more and more young people struggling with issues which often lead to self-harm and there's a warning the true scale of those self-harming in the city could be far more than the figures suggest.
Chantelle Park works with young self-harmers in the Sheffield with the charity Chilypep - she says we only know of the people who report their self-harm:
"A lot of the facts and figures that are available are probably lot higher - a lot goes unreported; it can be a very secretive thing.
"There's a whole range of pressures - it could be anything from exam pressures to situations in families or friendship groups. One of the most important things within mental health is that the understanding is there and that the awareness is there.
"It needs to be acted upon - some of these things might be that teachers don't know how to best support young people in those situations."
Dr Girish Vaidya is the Clinical Director for Community, Wellbeing and Mental Health Services at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, which runs CAMHS.
He says the rise is worrying:
"The current surge in self-harming behaviours in children and young people is a result of a range of factors which are not directly related to mental health. There are societal changes occurring including the pressure on young people to look, behave and present themselves as far more perfect than they are.
"As specialists in the wellbeing of young people, we are certainly concerned by the rise in the number of young people who are self-harming. However, it is better that more young people are feeling able to access the specialist support provided by Sheffield Children's, rather than suffering in silence."
Charity Chilypep have just launched a new campaign on mental health in young people - you can find out more on their website.