The Chair of a local mental health charity said that they have seen a 70 per cent increase in referrals related to self-harming. 

Self Harm Awareness for All (SAFA) is a charity based in Barrow. The charity supports people in the local area that experience mental health issues related to self-harm. 

Ian Burns, chair of SAFA said: "The thing that should really worry us is a demographic timebomb, our clients are getting younger, some as young as 11. 

"62 percent are aged 19 or under and 37 percent are aged 15 or under." 

SAFA helps with a broad range of self harm issues, including eating disorders. The Royal College of Psychiatrists voiced their concerns last week about the amount of hospital admissions for eating disorders nationally. Mr. Burns said:

"Eating disorders, as with most aspects of self-harm are a genuine situation where the individual is struggling with things and is trying to exert an element of control in their life. 

They are not seeking attention or being difficult, they are genuinely suffering.

A quarter of our clients are male (and if men were mroe willing to talk about mental well-being issues then that proportion would be half).

Mental well-being issues is no respector of status, class, gender, age, race, wealth or anything else." 

Mr. Burns said that social media was a factor in the increase in referrals: 

"Social media is definitely excerbating the situation regaring eating disorders as people feel pressure to mirror the photo shopped pictures of those in the media." 

The Westmorland Gazette:

Ian Burns pointed to social media as a driving force for mental health referrals. 

Mr. Burns also said that the NHS was not able to deal with the amount of people seeking mental health treatment:

"Despite heroic effors of doctors and nurses, much of our NHS is not fit for purpose. There is a drive to downplay symptoms and assume the best to prevent people going on waiting lists.

Education and early intervention is the key to significantly reduce the volume of people who get to an acute stage and need hospitalisation." 

South Cumbria and Lancashire Hospital Trust was reached out for a comment.