Females were hospitalized 66 per cent more than males last year due to some form of self-injury according to a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
In a yearlong period from 2015-16, 11,730 females were hospitalized across Canada from self-injury compared to just 7,746 males.
CIHI defines self-injury of a 15+ year old who deliberately injures their body, which is a result of suicidal or self-harming behaviours.
“Self-injury could be described as something that causes tissue damage,” said Dr. Sanjay Rao, who is a lead clinician at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Clinic and a professor at Ottawa University.
Rao argues that people use self-injury as a way to relieve themselves of stress as well as providing a distraction to everyday life. He even mentions that for some it can be enjoyable.
The gap between males and females as well as the number of hospitalizations has grown since CIHI started tracking the data in 2010. In fact, there were nearly 1,500 more self-injury hospitalizations in 2015-16 than in 2010-11. Females accounted for over 1,100 of the increase.
For Rao, the reasoning for the glaring gap between males and females is simple but he argues that the difference is actually bigger than what the statistics show.
“Females tend to significantly self-harm more. They are more likely to do it, therefore they are more likely to get admitted,” said Rao.
He says that women self-injure three to four more times than men do, but not everyone goes to the hospital for his or her injuries.
“The data on self-injury is not easy to get and not as accurate because often times people will not tell you that they are self-harming,” argues Rao.
Erin Christine, a Carleton University student who has experienced self-injury in her past, says that the expectations that girls have makes them more likely to experience mental health issues.
“Girls have expectations on their physical appearance, academic performance and just overall capability,” said Christine. “I think that girls often feel that they can’t meet those expectations which eventually leads to anxiety, depression and self-injury.”
Although she did not comment further on her own self-injury experience she described it as an outlet when she couldn’t control her pain and as a way to express the pain she was feeling inside.
Ottawa is no stranger to self-injuries as in 2015-16 there were a reported 453 female hospitalizations compared to 270 from males in the Champlain LHIN region. This total was higher than any year stretching back to 2013.
Rao stresses that this is not just a Canadian trend but rather something that concerns him worldwide. His theory is that as the world connects socially, people will continue to self-harm because they tend to follow the actions of others.
But for Rao and his fellow clinicians at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, self-injury is the most significant sign that that someone needs immediate help.
“We can have so many ideas on how to prevent suicide but when someone is self-harming that’s the most obvious risk,” said Rao. “That’s when we need to start worrying the most.”
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, men are four times more likely to die from a suicide attempt but women are three times more likely to attempt an act of suicide.
When asked about this statistic, Christine replied with a plea for more mental health awareness in places where youth are affected the most.
“Mental health impacts all aspects of your health overall. It’s underfunded in schools and needs to get the point where it can become an open topic.”