The Wire

The Kids Help Line today released a report showing an alarming number of calls from young Australians who are deliberately harming themselves. The report shows there is a clear increase in the level of psychological distress among Australia’s children and young people, resulting in feelings of anger, despair or self-hatred. And over half the calls came from rural or remote areas. Kids Help Line spokesman Ian Thomas says nearly 8% of their 70,000 calls requiring immediate assistance involved self harm and Beyond Blue spokesman Professor Ian Hickie says the reason for a high percentage of calls from regional areas is a lack of appropriate mental health services in those areas.