Katie

“Maybe if I was prettier and had lots of friends I would be happy too”

How to get support

Bullying, both on and off line, can have a massive impact on anyone. Katie’s experience is all too common. According to the Anti-Bullying survey, 1.5 million young people reported being bullied in 2016. If you have been a victim of bullying, remember that you are not alone, and that you can ask for help. Find out how SAFE! helped Katie.

If you are struggling to cope with the impact of bullying or crime, 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.

Tips for good self-esteem

• Believe in yourself and your right to be loved and respected
• Have personal goals and aspirations
• Take pride and acknowledge when you have done something good
• Keep a journal of positive things about yourself, or things you are grateful for
• Challenge yourself to be honest about what you do and don’t want
• This will help you feel in control of the choices in your life
• Take care of yourself and make time to do the things you enjoy
• Understand that you will make mistakes, everybody does, the trick is to learn from them.

Youngminds – Tips for boosting self-esteem and improving your mental health
How can I improve my self-esteem?

Tips for when you feel like you might harm yourself

• Whatever it is you are dealing with, know that it is understandable to feel upset, low and hopeless from time to time
• This may be hard to believe when you are feeling down, but things can get better – it can take time
• Keep safe – what can you do to remove temptation to hurt yourself?
• Many people can hurt themselves more than they mean to by mistake
• Can you get rid of things that you might use to hurt yourself? Can someone help you do this?
• Think of any other ways you can get your emotions out or perhaps distract yourself…
• Do something you usually enjoy even though you might not feel like it
• Think who you can talk to about what is going on – you’d be surprised how helpful it is just saying to someone that you are in a bad place
• Talk to someone who deals with this all the time – check the resources below or try and see your GP to get some counselling
• Look up your local CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health) service on the web

You could check out these for more advice and someone to help:

Youngminds – No harm done
Childline – Self-harm coping techniques
Samaritans
Harmless

How to deal with cyber-abuse

• Don’t keep it to yourself or deal with it alone. Tell someone you trust. It can help to talk.
• Don’t reply to any nasty messages you receive. Keep the messages that you’ve been sent so you can show someone.
• Don’t share, comment, or like any bullying posts. Sharing or commenting could make the bullying worse.
• Tell a responsible adult or the police if something is serious.
• Remember that things can change. Get help to build your confidence

Here are some links with more help:

Cyberbullying (Online bullying)
Childline – Building confidence after online bullying

How to help a friend

• If you are aware that a friend is being cyberbullied or getting abuse online, these are some of things you could do
• Don’t join in with negative comments, try to think about how you would feel in a similar situation
• Don’t be a bystander – by doing nothing you are allowing the abuse and bullying to go on and so becoming a part of it
• Don’t encourage your friend to reply and reply yourself as that may make the bullying and abuse worse
• Think about how you could support them – could you post a supportive comment online?
• Ask your friend what you could do to help. Encourage them to talk to a trusted adult and help them to do so
• Talk to an adult to get advice about the best way to support your friend
• Don’t keep things to yourself if you are worried – you have a responsibility to make sure they are safe
• Be a role model and show others how to behave well online