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A smartphone app has been designed to manage negative emotions and periods of anxiety in order to reduce self-harm in young people, new data has revealed.

BlueIce is a prescribed app and is created to be used alongside face-to-face therapies, overseen by medical professionals.

Clinical psychologist Professor Paul Stallard, of the University of Bath, developed the app in conjunction with patient groups.

A number of papers published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research emphasise that the app could help tackle self-harm in young people.

Head of psychological therapies for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Prof Stallard, claims the idea for BlueIce came about as a result of his work with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

“Many of the young people I was working with were self-harming but nearly all had their mobile phone close by,” he said.

“Our young people’s participation group at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust thought that a smartphone app could be a way of helping at times of distress, and with their input we produced BlueIce," he continued

“It helps the young person to monitor and manage their unpleasant emotions and to find alternative ways of coping," Prof Stallard added.

“Feedback from young users has been overwhelmingly positive, and there’s a huge potential for it to make a difference to young lives across the UK and internationally.”

BlueIce refers to low mood and ICE (in case of emergency) and is now included on the NHS Apps Library, which holds apps which have undergone technical and clinical reviews.

The app has a mood wheel for young people to keep track of their mood every day, adding notes on their current emotions and actions

The user is immediately routed to a mood-lifting section if a low mood is reported, which has activities designed to reduce distress.

Options include ideas from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and personalised mindfulness guides, images and music.

BlueIce can also take users to emergency contacts like Childline and the 111 service.

Professor Stallard assessed the influence of using the app for three months on a group of 40 young people aged between 12 and 17.

He discovered that 73 percent of those involved either stopped self-harming or reduced it as a result of the app.

BlueIce is currently being used by CAMHS services in Bath, North East Somserset, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.

It's also being evaluated in a randomised controlled trial undertaken across Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne.

Professor Stallard will start a trial in September to analyse whether BlueIce reduces the number of young people taken to A&E.

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Instagram is increasingly being told to take responsibility for the harmful effects of it's site on the mental health of young people.

Between celebrities endorsing weight-loss products which have no scientific backing, the NHS encouraging body-negative adverts to be banned, and the new sensitivity screens being put in place to prevent graphic violence and self-harm being depicted; Insta is a dangerous place.

Yet, we cannot deny that selfie culture and self-branding through social media has become just a normal part of our everyday life. Me, myself and Instagram has taken over, and young people growing up today assume it's perfectly normal to try to look perfect.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by  (@khloekardashian) on

It's so prevalent in society to share the highlights of ourselves and desperately emulate others who we assume have 'better' lives, which writers such as Matt Haig have emotionally discouraged.

FaceTuning images to blur seeming 'imperfections' such as stretchmarks, wrinkles, spots, freckles, teeth, smiles, body hair, even elbow wrinkles or unwanted curves is the new normal, according to our society.

Having flaws is deemed unhealthy, and the notion of 'narcissism' or vanity is no more.

Now Rankin is trying to counteract the idea of editing ourselves in a new photo series, and it's beautiful.

The amazing photographer is attempting counteract self-editing, by showing people just how damaging the effects of social media can be.  His photo series, aptly named Selfie Harm, was launched last week on Instagram.

The renowned artist captured portrait shots of 15 teens and handed power to them and their filter apps, asking them to edit the retouched image until they felt it was 'social media ready'.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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He commented;

“Social media has made everyone into their own brand. People are creating a two-dimensional version of themselves at the perfect angle, with the most flattering light, and with any apparent flaws removed.”

“This is a new, enhanced reality, a world in which teenagers can alter themselves digitally within seconds. Mix this with the celebrities and influencers flaunting impossible shapes with impossible faces and we’ve got a recipe for disaster," he attested.

The photographer shows images of youth and natural beauty which massively contrast with the newly filtered, edited versions. It's shockingly easy for the young models to blur the lines of reality, but what is 'perfect' in a world such as this?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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He wrote on Instagram;

“People are mimicking their idols, making their eyes bigger, their nose smaller and their skin brighter, and all for the social media likes. “It’s just another reason why we are living in a world of FOMO, sadness, increased anxiety and Snapchat dysmorphia."

"It’s time to acknowledge the damaging effects that social media has on people’s self-image," he concluded.

The visible differences and changes made allow the teenagers and subjects to transform their entire identity, so much so that their natural state is completely erased. There are smaller noses, smooth complexions, wider eyes and lips, everything you can imagine.

Interestingly, the photographer notes that most of the models preferred their original image, but it's still disturbing to witness the power of filters. These edits can convince people that they're regular image isn't good enough to be seen.

It's becoming harder to discern what's real and what's fake; soon the idea of reality on social media could vanish altogether.

Feature image: Rankin Instagram/Fashionista

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Jacqueline Jossa was hit with a wave of backlash after viewers of the British Soap Awards believed she made a disrespectful comment.

Fans of the award show were stunned when the actress supposedly said: “Everything is always self-harm on that show,” or “They all self-harm on that show.”

The comment was made when three Hollyoaks actresses won an award for best storyline, which saw their three characters grapple with self-harm.

Many users said the Eastenders actress was a ‘sore loser’ and found her comment extremely unfair and disrespectful, however, Jacqueline has come forward and explained it was taken out of context.

The mum took to Instagram to explain herself, “Just to clear things up, Lacey asked me what the storyline was, as we couldn't hear. I answered with ‘I’m not actually sure. I think they all self-harmed on the show'.”

The actress went on to explain that she hasn’t watched Hollyoaks recently and was unsure of what exactly the storyline was: “I wasn’t discrediting, I was literally answering what the storyline was.”

“I know that self-harm isn’t a joke. I love any soap that tackles hard stories. It’s been taken out of context. Sorry for offence,” the soap star stated.

Jacqueline explained that her co-star Jake Wood's recent storyline also featured self-harm so she wasn’t disrespecting the topic.

 

Goodbye to the Branning sisters I will miss you Lauren Branning. Always.

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“I wasn’t hating. I was answering a question,” the actress stressed.

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A young woman's simple but startling video has gone viral this week, after she bravely chose to share her story of abuse, bullying and self-harm with the world.

Anne Gruenwald was abused by her mother's boyfriend from the age of seven. What followed was years of depression and self-harm as Anna tried to come to terms with what she had gone through at such a young age.

Now in her teens, Anna has told her story to the world, to show others that they are not alone. 

What a brave young woman.

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