People can take first steps to get self-harm help
11/10
Yesterday, the Derby Telegraph reported that there were more than 800 incidents of self-harm in the past year.
As a result it has been officially classified by the NHS as one of the areas in the country with the most significant problem, along with a number of other cities, including Leicester and Hull.
Now Catherine Cleary, founder of First Steps, has reminded people of the support offered by her charity for people with eating disorders, which she said were often accompanied by self-harm.
She said high numbers of people self-harming could be due to the current economic climate.
She said: "There is a lot of pressure on people to achieve, to get good qualifications and a good job.
"Presently, due to the economic climate, a good qualification does not necessarily mean getting a job and this can really disillusion people and affect their self esteem to such a degree that they feel a failure.
"Low self-esteem is a large factor in the development of eating disorders and self-harm."
Patients in Derby deliberately cut and burnt their skin, drank poison and misused drugs and alcohol.
The city had a rate of 332 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to 245 elsewhere in Derbyshire and a national average of 212.