She eventually progressed to sharper instruments such as razor blades when compasses no longer produced the effect that she desired and once harmed herself so severely that she almost died. After being admitted to hospital on several occasions she was eventually sectioned for her own safety.
Not willing to spend her life in and out of psychiatric wards, Zoey sought help from Project SPEAR, a self-harm support charity based in Swindon.
After receiving help from the organisation, she has gradually begun to rebuild her life and has not self-harmed for the past four months.
While her case is quite extreme, an estimated one in 12 young people are believed to have self-harmed before, according to a major new study out this week. Entitled Truth Hurts, the report has been produced by the National Inquiry into Self-harm among Young People, a joint two-year initiative between the Camelot Foundation and the Mental Health Foundation that looks at what could be done to reduce levels of self-harm in the UK.
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