Ellie* was 13 and in her second year of secondary school when I noticed a mark on her arm. I immediately asked her about it and she said, “It’s nothing. I was just messing around.” Later on I saw marks on the tops of her legs. I tried to ask about them but she was very defensive and by this point you’re very scared as a parent. What’s happening is your worst nightmare and you have absolutely no idea what to do.
It turned out she’d been taking the blades out of pencil sharpeners at school, and using eyebrow razors, to cut herself. Things escalated from there. I have been to A&E about six times over the years — a couple of times after getting
