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To Sam

What should I do

I know peoples first reaction is tell someone, I told my parents but they said "If you don;t want us to write a letter to the school, then shut up and bare it" of course I would love them to write a letter and sort it out and make my life happy again, but i've already tried telling teachers, bullying suppport, even the headteacher and each time, they just got worst and worst. They might think they can sort it out just by telling them off, but they want to get back at you, they come up with more and more ways to make you cry. I'm in my last year at school and this isn't helping me. I want it to stop, I've tried standing up for myself, changing my look but it's no good. I come home everyday crying, alone.

Help please.

Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

Thanks for your letter. Bullying is a really important topic to talk about because it can make you feel vulnerable and alone and in need of support.

It takes a lot of bravery and courage to tell someone, and this is something you can always feel very proud of yourself for. In a perfect world, the problem should be sorted out, but it doesn’t always work out this way. But if things don’t change after telling someone, then it’s important to keep telling people what's happening, especially if you feel that the problem is getting worse and not better.

To help you do this, you could consider keeping a diary. This records what happens, who does it, when it happens, and most importantly how it makes you feel. This can be a very useful way of showing what's happening to you.

Your school may be able to use its anti-bullying policy, which is a promise to all young people that they will try to make bullying stop. Your school’s anti-bullying policy might be available on their website, so you can check it out and see what it says.

Another idea to explore with your teachers is the potential to offer some bullying workshops for young people so that those bullying other people can really understand the emotional impact they are having on another person. Sometimes understanding and awareness is enough to make people reflect on their behaviour. It can make them see how it feels to be the other person and change how they are being.

It’s important to remember that bullying is someone else’s behaviour, and doesn’t represent the truth about who you are as a person. You should never feel that you need to change based on comments. Especially when those comments make you feel bad about yourself.

It's your choice how you want to respond to bullying. But always know that there's support out there, and opportunities to change and grow so that you can feel happier within yourself and your school.

Remember that you can always talk to a counsellor.

Take care,
Sam

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