Bullying

Bullying is something that affects thousands of children and adults every day. Bullying is defined as the behaviour that is intended to hurt someone this includes name calling, spreading rumours, threats and physically assaulting someone.


This can happen at school, at work, at home or even in the streets. Being bullied occurs repeatedly over a long period of time which can have a huge affect a child mentally and can last into their adult lives. Many children have turned to self harm to make themselves feel better. I've been bullied throughout my childhood and I have decided to share my story to help others gain confidence to seek out for help.

Emily's story

All throughout my primary school I was bullied for being blonde. I was called a 'bimbo', 'dumb blonde' etc. This really got to me as it made me feel like I was worth nothing. The fact was it made to feel like I was not capable of achieving my highest through school. When in fact I could have done really well if I had some confidence.

Well when I got into secondary school (High school) I got bullied for being too thin. My family has a history of struggling to gain weight. We all have thin arms and legs which is genetic. It can't be helped but over the 5 years I spent a lot of my time crying over the fact people kept saying I was anorexic and need to put on weight. This caused me to have frequent breakdowns and I still believe it is where my depression first started. I wasn't happy any more. I hated myself because I was too thin.

I couldn't do anything to help how I was feeling so I turned to self harm because I hated my body. I believed that the way I looked was the reason I was unhappy so self harmed to help myself feel better but it got to the point where it didn't make me feel better and actually started to make me feel worse.

So this is when I told someone about my problems. I first told my best friend who supported me and helped me through being bullied and then I told my parents. I'm okay now and I don't listen to anyone else's opinions because I know I'm healthy and I'm starting to gain some of my self-confidence back.

Louise's story

Throughout my time in education,  whether it was in primary school, secondary school or sixth form, I was always bullied in some way. It became hard for me to tell whether I even had friends or even if the way the people treating me was right or not. I was always the child in a friendship group that was on the outside, never quite made to feel included but not being left out either. I was the child that people made griping, mean comments about without even thinking...and I just took it.  I was so afraid of no one liking me that I just put up with every mean thing that was ever said.

As I got older, it got worse. I was a doormat. It got to a point where I just sat there and cried in class when some girls were sending horrendous comments to me in a group chat. It was so bad that threats were made about reporting it to the police....then it got better. I'm so glad that the teachers found out because I really started to deal with the problem. I couldn't just pretend it wasn't happening anymore because adults were actively talking to me about it. It was so important that I felt more empowered because now I am starting to get my mind back on track. Bullying strips you of who you are but taking action can help give you your life back.

Help! 

If you are being bullied and feel there is no one to turn to there is. You can talk to Parents, Teachers, Friends, Even family friends but if you are too afraid to tell any of them you can turn to helplines which are open 24/7.

ChildLine
Helpline: 0800 1111
To contact ChildLine you can: Call the Helpline number, Send an email or have a 1-2-1 chat.
Read More: http://www.childline.org.uk/Explore/Bullying/Pages/Bullying.aspx

You can contact ChildLine about anything- No problem is too big or too small. If you are feeling scared or just want someone to talk to contact ChildLine

Get Connected
Helpline: 0808 808 4994
getconnected.org

Get Connected help people under 25 with a wide range of issues. They can put you in touch with the right sort of help local to you no matter what the worry is. Get Connected is a friendly website for children and young people.

I hope this post has helped anyone or think that they can take advice from this and pass it on to someone else. Please share this post to spread the word about bullying.

Love from,

Emily and Louise xxx