An inquest heard that a 17-year old schoolgirl, who was feeling under pressure due to extra work and had issues with her body image, committed suicide by hanging.
Darcy Hollinson, who lived with her parents and siblings in Tavistock, Devon, had issues bonding with friendship groups and felt excluded, the inquest at Exeter Coroner’s Court was told today.
Coroner said lockdown caused her to feel quite bad despite the fact that she had a boyfriend. He claimed that she suffered panic attacks and struggled to sleep, as well as bulimia.
Darcy, a pupil at the sixth form of Plymouth High School for Girls, last had contact with a female friend and they exchanged messages about relationships, mental health, suicide and the effect on their boyfriends.
The hearing revealed that the child psychiatrist she had seen on her last day was not suicidal and she was actually ‘planning the future’.
Darcy was hanged in her bedroom last April, within 30 minutes of the last message she sent to her friend.
Darcy Hollinson was a Devonian who lived with her family in Tavistock. Darcy had difficulties bonding with friend groups and felt excluded. This is what the Exeter Coroner’s Court inquest revealed today.
According to the coroner, lockdown had affected her very badly due to isolation. This was despite having a boyfriend who was a good friend. She said that she suffered from panic attacks and was also struggling with sleep.
The death was confirmed by a post mortem and the police stated that no suspicious circumstances existed.
Philil Spinney, the senior Devon coroner, recorded a suicide verdict.
Darcy had self-inflicted harm and was suffering from poor body image as well as low mood while she was battling a depressive disorder.
Mister Spinney expressed condolences and said it was difficult to bear.
The death by hanging was confirmed post-mortem and the police stated that there weren’t any suspicious circumstances
Darcy overdosed on January 2018
However, she did engage with Child and Adolescent Psychological Health Services in October 2019. She was in a “low mood and not enjoying sixth Form”
Her second overdose occurred in March 2020.
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