Huge rise in eating disorder admissions

Apr 26 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

High level of self-harm

MORE than one in five young people aged 11 to 19 say they have engaged in self-harm, according to research released yesterday.

Teenagers said they had deliberately harmed themselves by cutting, burning, punching and even poisoning, said the study by healthcare group Affinity, which provides mental health services to the NHS. The problem was at its greatest among girls, one in three of whom said that they had hurt themselves.

Dr David Kingsley, who led the study, said: "Some self-harm isn’t suicidal in intent, but is rather a way in which young people seek relief from emotional pain. Certainly, for very severe self-harm, things like physical and sexual abuse can be a factor, but in less serious self-harm, the top issue seems to be family relationship difficulties."

Dr Kingsley told delegates at the Young People and Self-Harm conference at Manchester University that in the past five years hundreds of internet bulletin boards on self-harming had come into existence. He said: "The internet is a mixed blessing for self-harmers."

Some sites contain links to others that sell self-harm paraphernalia and 20% actively discourage sufferers from seeking help.

Rachel is overlooked in figures

RACHEL Armstrong is one sufferer overlooked in the Government figures. She is one of a growing number of young women who have been treated for anorexia without the need for a hospital stay.

The 17-year-old has experienced first hand the difficulties in getting medical help for her condition, having to travel from her home in Dukes Road, Hexham, to Newcastle every week to see specialist doctors.

Her day-trips lasted nearly a year, and were a difficult strain on her family. The situation could have been made much easier with better care facilities.

Rachel’s dieting obsession saw her weight plummet by almost three stones when she was 15.

She exercised excessively, skipped meals and her weight dropped from a healthy 8st 7lbs to just over 5st 7lbs.

But thanks to the help from her mother Glynis, who was a finalist in a nationwide mother of the year competition, the student is now acting as an example to other teenagers.

Rachel, a pupil at Hexham Queen Elizabeth High School, said: "I’m not surprised by the figures at all, and I’d agree that they are only the tip of the iceberg. I know of other girls who are going through this who are not yet being treated and it will be hard for them.

"And while I wouldn’t say it is trendy to have an eating disorder I know why people think that because there is so much pressure to look thin.

"There isn’t enough help available at the early stages and anything the Government can do to change that I think would be good."

Pro sites criticised by doctors

PRO-ANOREXIA sites have been criticised for encouraging the condition among vulnerable youngsters.

One site, set up by a teenage girl in Newcastle, attracted hundreds of hits from girls across the country offering tips on starving themselves and lying to doctors.

Meanwhile teenager Leanne Brown, of Morpeth, who battled eating disorders for nine months, has now set up her own anti-anorexia website – www.goodbyeanorexia.piczo.com – to help young women suffering from the condition after her weight dropped to six-and-a-half stone.

Doctors at one of the country’s largest Eating Disorders Units, The Cheadle Royal Hospital, Cheshire, have launched a campaign against the pro websites, backed by charity b-eat.

Campaigners have warned that vulnerable youngsters are being encouraged to do "dangerous" things to control their weight.

French politicians are calling for three-year jail terms and heavy fines for those behind the websites that encourage girls and young women to starve themselves.