A FORMER self-harmer has warned sufferers to seek help as it was revealed that nearly 140 children were admitted to Dorset County Hospital in the last four years after injuring themselves.

Stuart Skinner burned and cut himself from the age of 18 to 23 and new information has revealed that dozens of Dorset’s youngsters are going to hospital each year for doing the same.

He is warning that help is available and they should not go it alone.

Figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request by the Dorset Echo reveal that from March 2006 to April 2007 a total of 31 people under the age of 18 were admitted to the Dorchester hospital.

That figure rose to 44 in 2007/8 but in the last two years has dropped slightly to 32 and then 31.

Stuart, of Belfield Park Avenue, Weymouth, was diagnosed as having manic depression, or bipolar disorder.

He has since travelled the world on expeditions as he finds exercise helps.

Stuart said self-harmers need to find the right people – like a teacher – to confide in and trust that it will remain a secret.

He said: “There’s lots of shame attached so there’s lots who don’t speak or end up in hospital.

“So those statistics will be misleading.

“Keeping it to yourself exacerbates the problem but the helplines direct you towards better help.”

Stuart, 30, is a former Wey Valley School and Weymouth College student.

He has qualified as a mental health first aid instructor and is planning a charity to help troubled kids get involved in activities and recover like he has.

Stuart said self-harming distracted him from troubling thoughts.

He said: “I knew it was no good for me but it felt like the best thing for me at the time.

“I did not know how to deal with my problem.

“And it was easier than having to put up with the distressed thoughts I was having.”

Stuart found writing, drawing or taking photos about what he was going through stopped him from self-harming.

He said to be wary that peers may not give the right advice.

Doctor Stephen Stanley, a consultant child psychologist with the Child and Mental Health (CAMs) team at Dorset County Hospital, sees patients following self-harming incidents.

He said: “It is probably true to say of those people who have been admitted for self-harm it may not be their first attempt.

“When you do interview them sometimes you discover it may have been their second or third time.”

Dr Stanley added: “You need to understand why a person at that moment felt like that, why they thought it was the right solution as far as they could see.

“To self-harm is quite a definite act.

“You need to have the emotional reason to self-harm and also the emotional energy to self-harm.

“We try and assess the two areas by looking at what made them unhappy and the flip side, what gave them the energy.”

Dr Stanley said bullying can be a trigger behind children self-harming.

He said: “Usually when people self-harm there is a problem that can be resolved.

“There is always someone to talk to like children’s helplines, the Samaritans and especially friends and family.”