Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE MAJORITY OF girls and young women admitted to psychiatric units and hospitals in Ireland are treated for eating disorders.
New figures from the Health Research Board (HRB) show that there were 503 admissions to all hospital types for under 18s in 2015, an increase of 67 since 2014.
The Activities of Irish Psychiatric Units and Hospitals 2015 report shows that 17,860 people were admitted to hospital for psychiatric care last year overall, a small increase from 17,797 in 2014.
There were 407 admissions to dedicated child and adolescent units for people under the age of 18. There were 96 admissions to adult units and hospitals for under 18s; 54 were aged 17 years, 33 were aged 16 years, six were aged 15 years, and three were aged 13 years or younger.
Some 60% of all and 58% of first admissions for under 18s were female.
Eating disorders and depression
Depressive disorders accounted for 32% of all and 33% of first admissions for under 18s, 13% had a diagnosis of neurosis, 12% had a diagnosis of eating disorders and 9% had a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Females accounted for 65% of all admissions with a primary admission diagnosis of depressive disorders, 87% of admissions with eating disorders, and 58% of admissions with neuroses.
Males accounted for 59% with a primary admission diagnosis of schizophrenia and 93% of admissions with other drug disorders.
Some 85% of under 18s admitted in 2015 were discharged in 2015. The average length of stay for those admitted and discharged in 2015 was 41 days.
Of those admitted and discharged in 2015, 19% were discharged within one week of admission, 9% were discharged within one to two weeks, 17% were discharged within two to four weeks, 45% were discharged within one to three months, and almost 10% were discharged within three months to one year.
Trends
Overall, admission rates to hospitals were highest for county Wicklow at 497.7 per 100,000, followed by Roscommon at 485.4, Sligo at 452.6 and Donegal at 437.5. Monaghan had the lowest rate of all admissions at 211.6 per 100,000.
Dr Graham Love, HRB chief executive, said the report “provides essential data to inform decision-making in relation to planning for mental health services”.
The report shows a small increase in admissions from 17,797 in 2014 to 17,860 in 2015. First admissions also increased by 172, from 5,942 in 2014 to 6,114 in 2015. However, looking at trends over time, there has been a 12% decline in total admissions in the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015, from 20,288 in 2006 to 17,860 in 2015.
The number of re-admissions has also shown a decline, dropping 20% from 14,687 in 2006 to 11,746 in 2015. First admissions increased by 9% over the same period of time, from 5,601 in 2006 to 6,114 in 2015.
Information on support available to people suffering from eating disorders can be found on the Bodywhys website.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I’ve been suffering with anorexia nervosa for nearly 30 years. It is complete torture. Nothing to do – for me, anyway – with models or celebrities. Just the belief that I am so vile that I don’t deserve the minimum of human rights, including food, heat or comfort. Food, to me, is an indulgence, and I don’t deserve that. It goes beyond food. I won’t allow myself heat either. I don’t deserve that, so I’m constantly freezing – including ice cold showers. I don’t allow myself to sit down because I’m ‘lazy’ and don’t deserve that comfort either. So I clean the house all day, and after that, I have to walk constantly until bed time. I normally don’t sleep, due to lack of nutrition, so I’ll pace my house (can’t be lazy and lie down!) until morning comes. It’s like having a disgusting bully in your head 24/7.
Anon , I’m sure what you went through for years didn’t help either .. not easy .
I went through a lot of force-feeding programmes and reward/punishment programmes. None of these helped. Feeling food in my stomach would literally make my skin crawl.
@Anon Sorry for your predicament.
Thank you Beachmaster. I’m just trying to show people that this isn’t a ‘vanity’ issue, but a complex, psychological disorder.
Nothing to do with skinny models or celebrities (although these can be the trigger for many youngsters).
Dignitas, in Switzerland, were willing to help me – that’s how bad this gets. However, I couldn’t afford it. This disease is hell on earth.
You have kids don’t you?
Anon..please try stay strong,life can be such a b#tch..I don’t know your life history but speaking on my own life,growing up not having a loving bond with my Mum,a father who wanted me to be good at things that my brothers were” great” at has given me different problems in my life,I just wish you all the best,try find one thing positive and hold that close,Anon my thoughts are with you.x
It’s a culture that’s obsessed with superficiality in all its forms and a media that perpetuates it. Women and girls do have it particularly tough in this area. Just wonder what can be done about it practically.
Women are bombarded with far more advertising than men and the subconscious effect its having on teenagers is creating narrastic personalities. The majority of modern day culture ain’t based on reality and its called Cult-ure for a reason.
Kids need to be kept off social media by their parents also. The amount of young (10-11 year old) kids I see on Instagram, Facebook, snapchat is seriously disturbing.
Let your kids be kids they have years ahead of them to be bombarded with photoshopped and sexualised images. Now, when they are at such a critical age, is not the one to be exposing them to that. No wonder so many kids are suffering with mental disorders. Time for parents to be parents not friends.
Its the womens magazines and the Kardashians…and TV,and the internet..and facebook…
Yeah… That’s it u total genius!!! You should head up the research centre for eating disorders and let them know uv cracked it.
Do you really think so???? Should i wait til monday or ring now????
what purpose does your comment serve Mary? peter seeks to make a point, which may be obvious to you, and others, but it is a valid point to make
The first documented case of anorexia nervosa was in 1698
That’s Richard Morton in his 1689 book, Pthisiologia.
You may aswell enjoy the rest of your weekend and ring them on Monday .. best of luck !
Thanks sis…lol!
Exactly, John. Nothing to do with the Kardashians, or skinny models.
Fluffer…thank you.My post may read as frivolous but i do have a 9 year old daughter and i am extremely vigilant/conscious/aware…..i have also worked with a considerable number of teenaged girls with trauma related eating disorders and abysmal self esteem…my post was calculated to initiate/provoke a wide range of responses from a wide range of afflicted people….if amongst them is one who will seek to ridicule me…well so be it but i do appreciate your intervention.
Anon….dont be a stranger.
You know when you read into something a bit more and something doesn’t really add up …
Suzie meaning what exactly.
Sis…you have insight here….the old sixth sense….go on….
Sparky .. sometimes when you’re reading posts/ stories on here you see a kind of pattern with some of them .. that’s all .
So is it the article you find have difficulty with or the posts regarding it..enlighten me please.
Bro , you could call it that .. I suppose but I’d be slated if I called it out ..
The posts …
Ok..pretty sad you have to try impress your opinion on something so sensitive.carry on.
Sis….spit it out…we will both be slated….
Sparky , I am very aware on how sensitive the topic is ..
Whenever there is a sad topic or article like this there is a poster who always seems to be a victim of whatever the sad article is about. … just saying ..
Suzie,what exactly does that mean,”victim” . maybe it’s just someone that can relate to a suffering different to the article but still a suffering.
Sis ….you have been there…you know….we dont…….but you can let it go ,maybe its real, theres always tomorrow…
Suzie. You’re a geebag
Sis…you are hypervigilant cos you know……you suspect…you compare..
Actually Sarah….no shes not….Suzie is never an abusive k#nt….unlike you.
Peter..wtf! Are you on about. I thought u were one of the smart ones on the journal.
Bro .. true too . But sometimes I’ll call it …one cannot be a victim or suffering from every sensitive topic / article on here .. I’ll await the onslaught. .
Sarah .. by using that word it tells me a hell of a lot about the kind of ‘person ‘ you are .. cop yourself on .
Bro, that didn’t take long ..lol.. thank you ..
He is …
@Suzie: Are you referring to me? I have commented on articles about domestic violence, mental health issues (anxiety and eating disorders), and my child’s special needs, as these issues have basically taken over most of my adult life. Therefore, I feel I have some insight in these issues and, by posting, (hopefully) can help people understand what it is like to live through these issues. Yes, they’re rather ‘sad’ topics, but I have commented on other, less depressing topics too.
I hope you don’t think I’m a troll or posting dishonestly because I’m not. Like I said, these are genuine issues I’ve experienced and been through, and I’d hate to think that you – or any poster here – would think I’m messing.
Sis…now i see…
Sparky….i do try….and i steer clear of offensive posters usually….
Bro , I had a feeling you would ..
I appreciate it’s a very complex issue with multiple factors contributing, but one thing that could be done is to unfollow the “celebrities” and “insta models” who are selling an image for women that is unrealistic for most people. This image of what a women “should” look like does no good for the mind if you are bombarded with it multiple times per day.
I agree with your sentiment, but I hate terms like ‘unrealistic body image’ or ‘unrealistic body goals’… if it’s not photoshopped or anything then it’s obviously realistic. Alot of the ‘insta models’ -while they are sickeningly narcissistic- are just vapid ‘fitness models’ (#irishfitfam shite) and don’t tend to photoshop their photos. Their bodies are attainable… you just have to forgo nice food and such. I’d be pointing the finger more towards the fashion and advertising industries and the shenanigans they involve themselves in with women’s magazines. They’re the ones that take a perfectly good looking girl and proceed to cut and paste her into some kinda yoke from a bad sci fi movie. Ultimately though it’s girls themselves that buy into this shite so it’s up to girls themselves to wake the phuc up.
“Attainable” isn’t always healthy though.
@Thomas. Airbrushed images should be banned from magazines . Models for couture should be at least size 10. Designers need to realise those promoting their creations and hence generating most of their wealth, are human beings. Think that concept is lost to most of them. Sport and the promotion of female sports personalities might go a way to counterbalance the ubiquitous celeb addiction in magazines,tv.
Saoirse…well said.
Well Saoirse, I think some of what your proposing could encroach on freedom of expression. Instead I think counter measures should be in place like educating girls and boys that these magazines, advertisements etc are unrealistic and superficial and encourage a healthier attitude towards body image. When you start talking about outright banning freedom of expression we are going to diverge in our opinions.
Agreed with the point on promotion of female sports. Not on the ‘atleast’ size 10 models though… by and large any girl who is between size 6 and 14 should be healthy enough so companies should feel free to use whoever they want… as long as they don’t photoshop or airbrush.
@Thomas. Well if air brush goes against freedom of expression then maybe a bit of honesty would be acceptable. Air brushed images should be labeled as such.
Yeah I agree with that, if it falls under the category of false advertising. And then if the magazines continue to use airbrushing, people can be encouraged to vote with their wallets, boycott those magazines until they change their policies.
‘We are not these bodies’
Srila Prabhupadha.
The amount of people airbrushing photos of themselves on social media has gone to extreme levels.
I often wonder if there is an impact (if any) on the people uploading these images – what they actually look like vs what they have uploaded to social media (airbrushed, slimmer versions of themselves)…surely on some level it would have a detrimental effect on their own body image etc?
Anon Ymous, thank you for sharing your story. It has given me insight and renewed compassion for this terrible disease. I truly hope you find some acceptance of and peace within yourself. Keeping you in my prayers. xxx
How is this news?! Anyone with a brain should be able to see this!!
So if you have a brain the news just arrives inside it without having to be published anywhere? Where can I purchase one of these brains?
@Peter thanks but as Anon has highlighted and as you have highlighted most of eating disorders and addictions are sourced in deep trauma. Have a friend who suffered from bulimnia and whilst the trigger for her was name calling one too many times, the root cause was totally different.
Saoirse…we wont always agree though it seems we do on this topic…..i heard recently and im still considering it….”all addictions stem from trauma”….
Interesting how it usually only affects women in the west
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Cosmetic Rhinoplasty for women is a huge business in South Korea and Iran. Skin whitening for a more western appearance is also popular in many Asian countries.
@Peter Heard someone saying exactly that on the radio recently. Interested me. So much so that i looked up the topic on the internet. Stumbled across something interesting. This person stated ‘trauma can lead to addiction which is a negative response to a very positive survival instinct’. The key is to recognise the negativity of the response and turn it around using other response methods. Wonder if addiction is a response to a trauma that is in conscious awareness of the addicted only or does it extend to people who have buried a trauma in the sub conscious mind too?
Saoirse….i think both are true….often,we arent as strong or resilient as we think we are and sometimes we have normalised our trauma.fascinating or what?
have your say