A new way of self-harm has caught the attention of the public on Feb. 14 after the network BBC exposed this new trend done by teenage girls and it involves over-the-counter drugs and household poisons. Parents are asked to pay more attention to the emotional and mental needs of their teenage daughters.
Café Mom featured the news beat that BBC aired and also published on YouTube to create awareness to all parents out there, especially those who have teenage girls. In a recent study involving child psychology, statistics show that girls ranging from the ages of 13 to 19 are often hospitalized in England and Wales due to self-poisoning. This number has even gone up three times for the last five years.
BBC's documentary reports that a lot of teenage girls have been subjecting themselves to over-the-counter medications and even using poisons that they could easily get inside their house simply to fight with depression and anxiety. Parents should be more aware of this danger that their teenage daughters are possibly doing to themselves.
It would appear that self-harm has evolved into a new form from the usual cutting on the risk and self-mutilation to self-poisoning, which is just as alarming as the former ways to cope with depression.
In an article published by the BBC, they wrote what Doctors have to say on this issue and based on what they have gathered, teenagers tend to harm themselves through poisoning because they feel like they cannot handle the situation anymore. On the other hand, cutting just shows that they are trying their best to cope with whatever it is they are finding it hard to live with.
However, just because a teenage girl is trying to poison herself, it doesn't always mean she is serious about committing suicide. It is important that they feel loved and accepted in their family in order to prevent them from depression and severe anxiety.
