Self-harming is on the increase among young people in the UK with the children’s charity NSPCC sayings nearly 19,000 children were admitted to hospital after harming themselves last year – a ‘frightening’ 14% rise in three years.
The NSPCC’s figures, collected from NHS Trusts in England and health boards in Wales, reveal that 18,788 under-18s were admitted to hospital or treated at accident and emergency units for self-harm in 2015-16. This compares with 16,416 admissions for self-harm in 2013-14.
The charity said this should be a ‘wake-up call’ to all those who care about the well-being of young people, the BBC reported with Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, saying: “Knowing hospital beds are full of young people crying out for help should be a real wake-up call to all those that care for the wellbeing of the younger generation.
“It is vital we confront the fact that an increasing number are struggling to deal with the pressures and demands of modern-day life, to such an extent they are inflicting terrible damage upon themselves.”
Self-harming is one of the most common reasons for children to contact the charity’s Childline service. About 50 children a day are given counselling on the issue, it said, and last year the helpline dealt with more than 18,000 calls about self-harm.
Dr Max Davie, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told the BBC that schools should be offering more support through comprehensive Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE) education which would teach children about emotional wellbeing and about addressing challenging mental health issues such as eating disorders, self-harm and suicide – in addition to other important topics like positive relationships, sex education and the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse.
But schools are not currently obliged to offer PSHE and many cases can go unnoticed until it is too late. People who self harm, it has been found, often feel ashamed and isolated by their actions and the symptoms. The effects of this can have a dramatic impact on their lives from day to day.
The NHS says many young people self harm because of social factors, trauma or mental health conditions and this can be due to bullying, sexual abuse, depression and low self esteem.
Whatever the underlying reason is, clinical hypnotherapy can deal with it more specifically than can a drug – and without harmful side effects. By using hypnotic techniques, the hypnotherapist can help someone remove the habit or behaviour and regain total freedom.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy says hypnosis allows the therapist to access those parts of the unconscious mind which are responsible for the self harming behaviour. Therapists will then help those parts learn to express themselves in more positive ways than self-harming.
Whatever the problem feeling is, hypnotherapy can deal with it more specifically than can a drug – and without harmful side effects.
Self-harming, says the NCH, is an expression of inner depression, anxiety and turmoil and the reasons for these feelings can be worked through and treated with hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy has a high success rate in dealing with issues like stress and anxiety, bullying, eating disorders ands even addictions.
By contacting an NCH-registered therapist near you – click here to access the directory which lists around 1,800 trained therapists across the UK – and setting up an initial session, the path to recovery from self-harming can easily begin. Hypnotherapy can unlock the potential we all have to break free of negative thought patterns, and to react more positively and more confidently to situations that may have previously caused problems.