1 in 3 teenage girls in Devon self harm

Nearly 900 women and girls went to the RD&E Hospital for self-harm related reasons, in the last financial year.

One in three teenage girls in Devon self-harm according to the mental health charity Mind.

Heart can exclusively reveal that in the rest of the county in the last financial year, there were nearly 600 female admissions to hospital for self harm related reasons.

Amanda Williamson from Devon's branch of Mind says there's a much bigger picture,

"Most self harm probably does not need medical attention. For most of the 1 in 3 it's something they grow out of as they learn to manage life better. But there are some who start older when they first hit a time of major distress".

But she also warns that many people can relapse,

"We tend to go back to old coping mechinism when the same things happen again. If someone's seriously miserable and used self harm and then got through that, the chances are next time life throws something at them that will be the coping mechinism that comes to mind".