I've been Cyber-Bullied for a year and it only stopped when I left the site a few months ago loads of people would call me names. I would cry myself to sleep at night wondering what I did to deserve all of it then it got out what my religion was and all the christians were against me. I had a friend on there who supported me alot but she commited suicide about 5 months before I left the site- to think that it was my fault that MY bullies targeted her to get at me tore me apart. I'm in year 7 and my friend's friend and her gang keep coming up to me and another friend and calling us names and rubbing in how much of a FAILURE my life is. I have 4 supportive friends but it kills me to see them so worried about me. I've cried every day in the past week and I just can't cope with it all anymore.
Sam
Hi there,
Im really pleased youve written to me to tell me about your experience of being bullied over the last year. It sounds as though the people who have bullied you have made life incredibly difficult for both you and your friends. Youve spoken about cyber bullying and real life bullying from a gang of people at school. Youve also said that you are bullied because of your religion. None of this is acceptable.
Youve done a really good job of explaining to me how much the bullying has affected you. You said that you often cried yourself to sleep at night wondering what you did wrong. Its really important that you understand that bullying is never the fault of the person being bullied.
You told me about the friend that you had online who committed suicide because of bullying. It sounded like you were really blaming yourself for her death. That feels like a huge amount of guilt for you to be carrying around. While it may feel difficult for you to believe, what happened to your friend was not your fault. Im not sure whether youve received any support with this. Winston's Wish is a site that supports young people after someone has died, maybe you could check it out.
You havent said where the real life bullying takes place. If its at school, then your school has a duty to protect you. Bullying is something that they have to take very seriously. All schools should have an anti-bullying policy which describes what they will do about bullying. Youre allowed to ask to see the policy and this will help you to find out what your school should do if you report the bullying. Talking to an adult that you trust is the best way to start getting the bullying stopped.
Often cyber-bullying is done anonymously, so you might not know who is doing it. There are still things you can do to report it. Thinkuknow and BullyingUK both have good advice on their website about reporting and blocking online bullying or abuse.
I can really hear from your email just how overwhelming the situation is for you and youve said that you dont think you can cope anymore. Its great to hear that you have friends who are supporting you. Im wondering if there are any adults who know whats been happening to you? Another option you have is to talk to a ChildLine counsellor about your feelings. They could also help you to explore your options. Youve been really brave to write to me and if writing feels more comfortable than talking, perhaps you could log in for a 1-2-1 chat on the ChildLine website.
Take care,
Sam
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