One in five girls and young women aged 16 to 24 have cut, burned or poisoned themselves, according to research that mental health experts said was ‘very worrying’. The findings, published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, show that self-harm has risen across both sexes and all age groups since 2000. In the population as a whole it almost trebled by 2014 with the number of people cutting themselves the highest category. . They harm themselves as a way of coping with anger, tension, anxiety and depression. However, a lack of NHS services and people’s unwillingness to seek help means that more than half of those who self-harm do not receive any medical or psychological care. It is most common among females aged 16 to 24. So many young people are self-harming that it risks becoming normalised and increasing the number who kill themselves when they are older. Pray for the NHS, Education Authority and Social Services to develop teaching plans that will help people learn more appropriate ways of dealing with stress.