A 14-year-old girl feels so overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings about her father’s sudden death that she starts to cut her arms with a pair of scissors. Why? Because each cut brings an instant but temporary relief from her heart-shattering grief. It may be difficult to understand, but this teenager’s behaviour is far from unique. More young people than ever before are turning to self-harm: intentionally damaging or injuring their bodies by cutting, burning, strangulation, head-banging, skin-picking, hair-pulling and self-poisoning as a way of dealing with the unique stresses of 21st-century life.