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Hi,
Thanks for your letter. Im really glad that you decided to tell me about whats been going on. It sounds like your old best friend has really let you down. What shes doing is bullying and its very wrong of her.
It sounds like this change in your friend has been a really big loss for you. I can hear that youve been particularly lonely at dinner times recently. Feeling this way is a very difficult thing to be dealing with on your own. You might want to think about looking out for a lunch club or after school club that you think you might enjoy. This would help give you some company at lunch time, and it might also give you a chance to meet some new friends.
You have a right to feel safe and happy at school. Your school also has a responsibility to take any kind of bullying seriously. Youve told me that youd like to tell the teacher about the bullying, but youre not sure what to say. I guess one way to tell the teacher could be to give them a letter like this one. This letter youve written for me describes things very clearly. Something else you could try is keeping a bullying diary. In the diary you would write down what happens, when it happens, who does it and how it makes you feel. You could show the diary to your teacher, and that way the teacher would get a really clear picture of the bullying and how its affecting you.
You havent told me much about how the bullying has made you feel, but youve called your letter suicidal. It worries me that you might be feeling that way. When someone is being bullied it can really affect their confidence and self esteem. Sometimes when someone says mean or nasty things over and over to someone it can make that person wonder whether what those things could be true, even though they are not. Talking about whats happening and getting some support can help you to get some confidence back again. You might also find it useful to read the Explore pages on coping with suicidal thoughts and Building Confidence and Self-esteem.
You might want to think about talking to one of the counsellors at ChildLine. They are there to support you. You can contact ChildLine by calling free on 0800 1111 (even from a mobile) or by logging on for a 1-2-1 chat. You could even send the counsellors an email. Lots of young people who are suffering from Bullying contact ChildLine everyday and you can get some peer support from them via our message boards.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.