Charlie

“He’s taking his real world anger out online, I suppose”

Getting support

Callum and Charlie’s story was created by young people who have been supported by SAFE! and is based on their experiences.

If you are struggling to cope with the impact of crime or bullying, tell someone what has happened, they might be able to help. To find out more about the support SAFE! provides, check out our website, or get in touch with us directly, and someone will call you back.

You can get immediate help from Childline or by calling on 0800 1111.

Victim Support has information and further help for young victims of crime.

If you are in immediate danger, call the police by dialling 999.

What to do if you are being bullied

• Bullying can happen in lots of different ways and it can feel like there’s no way out.
  It can include name calling, having rumours spread about you, being ignored or left out and being threatened or intimidated into doing something you don’t want to do.
• Bullying can happen anywhere, face to face at home or school, or online through your phone, computer or games console.
• It can be scary, confusing and really knock your confidence.
• Don’t be afraid to tell a friend or trusted adult, even if it’s only happened once.
• What can I do if I’m being bullied?
  • Don’t fight back – you could get hurt or in trouble.
  • Don’t reply to abusive messages – this could make things worse.
  • If the bullying is online, block and report the person.
  • Speak to a friend or trusted adult.
  • Don’t neglect your health or mental wellbeing – remember this is not your fault.
  • If you don’t want to talk to someone in person, there are organisations you can talk to online or over the phone.
  • Look at these 10 top tips to overcome bullying.
  • If you know somebody that’s being bullied, take a look at these tips on how you can help them.

Organisations that can help:

• Kooth
• Ditch the Label
• Young Minds

Making friends when you’re somewhere new

• It can be scary making friends when you’re somewhere new.
• It is normal to feel sad, or angry, or scared.
• It can take time to make new friends, don’t be hard on yourself if it isn’t instant!
• If someone is friendly to you, try to be friendly back.
• It’s important to listen to new people and ask them questions.
  Try to smile, even if you’re nervous!
• It doesn’t matter how many friends you have, what matters is having friends you enjoy spending time with.
• Look out for people who have similar hobbies and interests. Lots of friendships start because you have something in common.
• Don’t be afraid to try new things! Clubs, in or outside of school, or volunteering are great ways to meet new people.
• Take a look here for volunteering opportunities where you live. You could also look at the National Citizen Service.

Childline
Reach

Dealing with anger

• We all feel angry sometimes, and listening to our anger can help keep us safe.
  Problems at home or school, or falling out with friends or family can all make us feel angry.
• Sometimes our anger can be uncontrollable and we don’t know why we’re angry.
• There are ways we can learn to manage this anger so that we don’t put ourselves in dangerous situations or make things worse.
• Anger is a problem if it makes you:
  • Physically or emotionally hurt yourself or someone else
  • Abuse people, in person or online
  • Break things or lose control
  • Get you into trouble
  • Refuse to go to school
• There are things that you can do to help yourself manage this anger:
  • Talk to a friend or trusted adult.
  • Go online and ask for support
  • Learn your early warning signs and understand what triggers your anger
  • Try not to take your anger out on other people
  • Learn ways to calm down, like going for a walk, taking deep breaths or listening to music. There are some great ideas here.
  • Try to stay calm and not to shout so the situation doesn’t get worse.

Organisations that can help

• The Mix
• Headspace
• VKool
• Youngminds

Gaming Addiction

• An addiction can start if you often want to do a certain thing, like playing online games.
• Gaming addiction can cause arguments with your family
• Online addiction can take over your life and stop you from enjoying the real world
• It can give you a high and make you feel good, so you want to keep playing.
• But it’s important to make time for other activities outside of online gaming
• If you feel like you can’t stop playing the online game, this could be an addiction.
• You might feel like you need online gaming to feel normal.
• Addictions can be strange, because you can be addicted to something that makes you feel less stressed but it can also make you more stressed.
• It can help to get support.
• You can talk to another organisation, or a trusted friend or adult.
• There are some things you can do to beat the addition:
  • Remove temptations – unplug your games console, give the games to someone to look after for a while.
  • Take things one step at a time and treat yourself with other things if you manage to stick to your goals.
  • Make a plan to do something different when you’re tempted – talk to friends or find a new hobby.
  • Think about the future – think about why you want to take back control of your life.
  • Write down why you want to stop or cut down.
  • Don’t give up! If you play an online game, don’t give up trying to beat the addiction.
• You can get immediate help from Childline on their website or by calling on 0800 1111.