Firstly, you do not have to deal with this by yourself you have a support network which is here to help you! If you are being bullied, please tell an adult; it can be someone like a teacher, a support worker or your foster carers. Tell someone so they can start to help and support you.
Being the target of a bully or bullies at school can be very difficult and have a massive impact on how you are feeling. Unfortunately, bullying happens to too many young people. But, your support network will help you get this resolved.
Any behaviour that is done repeatedly, deliberately, and intended to cause harm or hurt. Bullying does not need to be physical; you can be bullied without anyone ever physically touching you. It also does not have to happen in person; cyberbullying is a very real problem and can take place via phone, email or on social network platforms, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Tiktoc, and Facebook. If you are a victim of cyberbullying, please keep a record of everything, all the messages you receive, missed calls, etc
Generally, bullies are looking for a reaction, be that making someone sad and cry or something a bit more explosive where the reaction is anger. It is about having power, trying to feel more powerful than others. Quite often there is something happening / or happened in a bully’s life that has made them feel powerless, they then start bullying others in an attempt to make themselves feel better and feel powerful again. They could be struggling with peer pressure, or they want to be seen as popular. Whatever the reason, bullying is not right or acceptable, and you do not have to be on the receiving end of it!
Remember, you do not have to deal with this by yourself you have a support network which is here to help you! If you are being bullied, please tell an adult; it can be someone like a teacher, a support worker or your foster carers. Tell someone so they can start to help and support you. If bullying is happening at school, the starting point is often to get the school involved; every school has a policy on bullying which will set processes on how they deal with different situations. This is an essential step in getting the bullying stopped, but there are things you could consider doing whilst everything is getting sorted out.
Starving the bullies of the attention and reaction they want is one option. There are many techniques to help you with bullies.
A team member recently helped her daughter, who was struggling with a school bully. She was taught the rock method. In the simplest terms, you pretend to be a rock! Rocks do not show emotion, which means the bully does not get any reaction from them; in fact, a rock could not be any less interested in what is happening, as well, they are a rock. If a bully cannot consistently get any reaction from you, they lose interest in you very quickly. But, this is not to say you should not feel sad or worried; it is just that you do not show those emotions to the bully. You wait to find a safe place/people to then express those emotions.
An example:
Bully: Your haircut makes you look stupid!
Responses: Just shrug. You do not have to engage by disagreeing; they can have their opinion. Your haircut is absolutely fine, the bully is just looking for a way to get a reaction. If commenting on hair does not get one, then they will try something else on another occasion, clothes, family circumstances, and even height, both too tall and too short!
Depending on the type and severity of the bullying, the police may need to become involved to ensure that everyone is being kept safe and all appropriate steps are being taken. http://www.police.uk
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