Nearly a quarter of girls aged 14 self harm

[HavingALittleBabyToolshed]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45329030]]

“A survey of 11,000 children found 22% of the girls and 9% of the boys said they had hurt themselves on purpose in the year prior to the questionnaire.”

This just breaks my heart. I dabbled with a little bit of self harm when I was about 16-17 but I cut it out pretty quickly. It makes me so sad to think of so many young people (22% of girls!) going through this.

22% of 14 year old girls is staggering.

Everard I agree. These poor kids miss out on so much for being glued to their phones. The internet is wonderful but also ensures teenagers miss out on so many things. I had a very boring adolescence in a rural area and as a result have grown up into someone who reads a lot and who also has rather a rare skill which I've earnt money from. It's of course fine if other people don't want to read but how do you know if it's something which gives you huge pleasure if you've spent years stuck on Snapchat? The art people have created over generations which has stemmed from being bored - we are losing so much as a society.

Gender yes I grew up in a rural area too and as a result spent a lot of time on my own. I read books a lot and still do, and I became very good at music. I did have mental health problems and self harmed but that was as a result of abuse as a child, I sometimes wonder how I managed to hold it together and to also be successful career-wise, and part of the answer I think has been my love of books and knowledge and the self-reliance and ability to occupy myself and self-examine that came from having nothing to do!

I completely agree about the ability to be bored and its benefits

I remember standing at bus stops with nothing to do and watching the world go by and letting my mind wander
I’m sure there are benefits to this we just done know about. From the slowing In breathing to the mind switching off

Has self harming always been a problem? I don’t recall it from when I was young in the 70s and 80s but perhaps it just wasn’t talked about.

In my girls’ school in the late 80s there were cutters on my year, but I’d estimate no more than 5% - with the usual caveats about the ones who were better at hiding it. We also had the usual anorexics, bulimics and one girl repeatedly hospitalised after suicide attempts. However, compared to what girls have to put up with now, I feel we got off lightly.

That is a very open-to-interpretation question about self-harm.

Has self harming always been a problem? I don’t recall it from when I was young in the 70s and 80s but perhaps it just wasn’t talked about.

I remember it being a substantial issue at school but it was hushed up, glossed over, and sometimes the pupils involved quietly disappeared to hospital/another school.

I don't think it's worse now - I think it's more visible and some aspects of it are distorted by social contagion.