Support with bullying

Don’t put up with it. No one deserves to be bullied.

What is bullying?

Bullying is the repeated actions of one, or more people to hurt another person emotionally and/or physically. It can happen to people of any age.

If somebody physically hurts you, or verbally abuses you, that’s bullying.

Specific types of bullying include:

  • homophobic bullying based on your sexual orientation
  • racist bullying because of your skin colour
  • religious bullying because of your beliefs or faith.
  • sizeist bullying referring to your body size
  • sexist bullying focusing on you being of the opposite sex
  • cyberbullying targeting you online, often anonymously
  • bullying because you are different

Bullying can be a one-off or it can go on for a long time. And bullying can happen to anyone.

Anyone can be the bully - family, friends, school mates, work colleagues or strangers. It can happen anywhere - in a school, workplace, home, social activity or online. 

How bullying can affect you?

Bullying can make you feel isolated and worthless, lonely, anxious, angry and lacking confidence. You may experience some or all of these feelings.

Some people who are being bullied develop depression, anxiety and eating problems. They may self-harm or turn to drugs and alcohol. If you are experiencing problems like these because of bullying, it’s having an impact on your health. You need to talk to your GP, who will keep any information confidential. You can also text your School Health Nurse in confidence 0750733170

Bullying in any form is hurtful and unacceptable and can make your life miserable.

Get help for bullying

Ignoring bullying won’t make it go away. You need to tell someone about what is happening.

If the bullying is happening at school
Talk to your parents or carers and your teacher. Your teacher may have no idea that you are being bullied, and the school will have an anti-bullying policy to tackle it.

If you feel you can’t speak to your teacher, maybe a friend can do it for you. You can also text your School Health Nurse in confidence via 0750733170 and the school nurse may be available for a drop-in at yours school. You could text Chat Health to ask when this may take place.

If the bullying is happening outside school
Talk to your parents or carers, close relatives such as grandparents, aunties and uncles, or even your friends’ parents. Youth workers and leaders may be able to help too.

If the bullying is happening online
Tell a trusted adult – your parents or carers, or a teacher. You can report abusive posts on Facebook and other social media platforms. You can also report abuse to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre).

Keep reporting the bullying until it stops. It may not stop the first time you tell your parents or teacher and they try to stop it. If the bullying continues, tell them again.

For more help, information and videos see the links below or contact Chathealth to speak to your School Health Nurse.