Hi there
Thank you for telling me about being bullied at school for the last few months. You’ve given me lots of information about what the person bullying you and your friends has been doing. You call it torture and the name calling and lies would be hard for anyone to endure.
You’ve also described something particularly hard, where someone who was a friend suddenly turns into a bully. It’s very difficult to make sense of that kind of betrayal, and it’s clear that a lot of friendships have shifted because of it. And you’ve felt so angry, sad and scared that you’ve self harmed, which of course concerns me. I know self harm can happen when a young person is distressed, you can look on the Self harm explore page and get good information from us to keep you safe.
I’m glad to hear the teachers at school are trying to sort out the bullying. And it sounds like your mum and dad know you’ve been affected by something and want to talk to you about it. But you say you feel too scared to tell them anything and that talking about it would be hard.
At ChildLine we often tell young people that having the support of the adults in your life can be really helpful, and seeking that support isn’t a sign of weakness or an admission that you’ve done something wrong. And it doesn’t have to mean you want your parents to take over, as if you were a very young child. It’s just a chance for all of you to have a conversation about how things are for you in your everyday life, and will help them understand some of the things that are hard for you right now.
I’m so glad you thought of sending me a letter. It would be great if you could take just one more step and contact a ChildLine counsellor – either online or by phone (0800 1111) – to talk more. If you think it would be too hard for you to tell your parents everything, talking with a counsellor could help think more about it and kind of rehearse with you how you might do that. You could also tell them how things go as your school tries to help sort out things. If you feel able, you could also talk to them about your self harm.
You may already be familiar with the ChildLine website and the information it has on bullying, self harm, problems with friends and many other things. But you also might want to take a look at the Childline message board on Bullying and the Childline message board on Self harm.
Take care,
Sam