However, the coping mechanisms that teens and young men and women use to deal with anxiety, stress and emotional issues vary widely, resulting some to resort to self-harm.

In the past decade, the incidence of females inflicting self-harm has increased by 51 percent, with the majority aged 12-24, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

A team from Southern Community Welfare (SCW) at Kirrawee is about to run a support group for young people hoping to stop the cycle of deliberate self-harm.

The facilitators have spent months devising the 12-week course, drawing on research from around the world to find an end to self-injury and reduce the isolation of sufferers.

Jeanene Ecob said the course would devise emotional management strategies to help young people better cope with life.

"We will help people look at the question 'what triggers this feeling?','' she said.

"We will look at emotional regulation and a person's low tolerance of negative emotion.''

Rachel McKinnon said self-esteem problems played a large part in self-injury, while Karlyn Johns said it was often a habitual response when adolescent angst became too much.

"But our course is very future focused,'' she said.

"It's about helping people look forward.''

For more go to: www.southerncommunitywe lfare.org.au/About_Us_Support.asp x