Self-harming is affecting younger children than ever before.

Experts have known children as young as 12 to present with self-harming issues in the Bradford district.

In 2011/2012, the national charity ChildLine reported that self-harm was in the top five concerns for 14-year-olds for the first time. However, in the first six months of 2012/13, this age dropped further, appearing for the first time in the top five concerns for 13-year-olds.

One in 12 children and young people are said to self-harm. Over the last decade, inpatient admissions for young people who self-harm have increased by 68 per cent. In the last year alone, these hospital admissions for under 25s increased by ten per cent and, among females under 25, there has been a 77 per cent increase in the last ten years.

Lisa Stead, team manager of the Bradford specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), says she has noticed self-harming has increased, but wonders whether, through awareness, young people are more willing to talk about it.

“I think it has increased, but I don’t know whether that is that self-harming has increased or whether everybody is more in tune with it.

“I think generally young people talk much more and their whole lives are on Facebook. They are so much more open these days,” says Lisa.

During the recent Self-Harm Awareness Day ChildLine, YouthNet (the charity behind TheSite.org) selfharm.co.uk and YoungMinds launched a myth-busting campaign, supported by N-Dubz singer Tulisa, to get people talking and reduce the stigma attached to self-harming which prevents many young people seeking help.

Lisa says there are many triggers for a young person starting to self-harm. Family stress and online bullying may contribute to a young person’s distress “I think it is a real range, but we have to remember that most people who self-harm are not mentally ill. They are distressed and that is a way of showing their distress,” explains Lisa.

Contrary to the perception that self-harming is attention seeking, Lisa says those who self-harm are more likely to hide their injuries through shame.

Cutting is the most common, followed by scratching, but there are many other ways young people self-harm which are not so well recognised, such as punching or burning themselves or pulling their hair out.

His parents’ separation prompted Sam, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, to start self-harming.

The 14-year-old from Bradford was struggling academically and was being bullied. He started self-harming as an escape from everything that was wrong in his life. Temporarily, it made him feel better, but he found he couldn’t stop and, eventually, confessed to his devastated mum who, not knowing where to turn, told her doctor.

The family were referred to the school nursing services who, along with the specialist mental health services team, were able to put together a care package to reduce Sam’s self-harming.

A family bereavement was the trigger for Polly, whose name and identifying details have been changed to protect her identity, to start self-harming.

“I was devastated and withdrew into myself; I wouldn’t talk to anyone and I hardly ate or slept. I started to self-harm by banging my head against the wall as I found it easier to have to deal with the physical pain than withstand the emotional pain,” she explains.

Polly’s self-harming intensified when she started being abused by her step-father. Cutting herself became a coping mechanism.

“Sometimes I would cut myself with a razor blade two or three times a week and I began to cut deeper and deeper,” she says.

She found solace in the charity ChildLine. “I’d always battled with whether the sexual abuse was my fault and at the start of each call I’d ask: ‘Is this my fault? Did I do something wrong?’ The counsellor said it wasn’t and being able to speak to someone who believed me and who didn’t judge me was such a relief.

“If it wasn’t for ChildLine, I wouldn’t be around today as I often called them when I was feeling suicidal and wanted to jump in front of a bus and they gave me the strength to carry on. They listened to me, believed me and they gave me the strength to carry on.”

Those seeking help through the Bradford specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) need to be referred through their doctor or school nurse.

For more information, contact ChildLine, a charity offering free confidential advice and support 24 hours a day, on 0800 1111, or visit childline.org.uk; Selfharm.co.uk, a safe, pro-recovery website supporting young people who self-harm; YouthNet, offering an online guide to life for 16 to 25-year -olds, and YoungMinds, committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people, on 0808 8025544 or visit youngminds.org.uk.