I can’t stand when people bully me or others for that matter! I have been going through it for years. People think it’s cool and it’s not!
Dear Sabrina,
I am sorry to hear that you and others are being bullied. No one deserves to be bullied. There are a few things we can suggest to you. The most important is to remember to take care of yourself, and if others are being bullied, to remind them to take care of themselves too. If you are taking good care of yourself physically and mentally, it is a lot harder for outside influences to affect you. You will be feeling much better about yourself on the inside, which will be transparent and show on the outside. Remember to always keep your head up and be strong because if a bully can see that the bullying is “working” by way of affecting you and your well-being, (s)he is going to take advantage of that and continue to bring you down.
However, that doesn’t mean that you or anyone else should have to deal with bullying. If you have talked to the bully or bullies already and they have not stopped, or if you do not feel safe talking to them, you or whoever is being bullied should talk to a trusted adult –such as a teacher, a counselor, or a parent. These people can take the appropriate measures to ensure that the bullying stops. If the bullying does stop after taking these steps and getting an adult involved, it is important that you continue to care for yourself and keep your self-esteem up. You can do this by building good self-care skills for the future. Self-care is basically doing something for yourself that is healthy, that you enjoy, that makes you feel good and uplifted, and keeps your stress down. An example could be going for a run or taking a bath. Only you know what works best for you, but here is a website with some tips that can give you an idea of how to cultivate good self-care skills: http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/bryan/webstres.htm
I hope this helps you. If you ever need more help, we would love to hear from you! Feel free to email us here, chat with us by going to www.theyouthline.org and clicking “Chat Now” on the right, or giving us a call us at 1-877-968-8491. The YouthLine is available 24/7, and teens are available to answer your calls Monday-Friday from 4-9pm.
Best of luck,
YouthLine