Dealing with Bullies
Notice: In all cases, if you or someone you know is at immediate risk for physical harm including suicide, please call RI Emergency 911 immediately and ask for help!
Are you or someone you know being bullied?
Suicide should never be the option to solving this problem. Learn more about the problem by reading below and linking on to this national website.
With recent news stories about student suicides associated with bullying, its imperative to learn more about what to look for and what you can do to prevent further victimization. Do not blame yourself or face this problem alone. Tell someone! Tell a trusted family member, teacher or professional at school.
A bully can use different types of bullying to intimidate another person. These include physical bullying, hazing, emotional bullying, verbal bullying, and cyber bullying.
The Bully
A bully hurts another person over and over. A bully is a person who purposely tries to hurt others by:
- Making them feel uncomfortable
- Hurting them by kicking, hitting, pushing, tripping, etc.
- Name-calling
- Spreading nasty rumors
A bully is someone who threatens you in person, through texting, or on line.
What you can do if someone is bullying YOU:
- Try not to let the bully see you are upset. Do not try to prove yourself, have confidence and do it with a smile.
- Be kind. Be outgoing. Try to surround yourself with friends and people who will stand up for you.
- Avoid areas where the bully feels comfortable picking on you, places where teachers cannot see you – such as lonely corridors, and behind large furniture in the classroom.
- Tell someone you trust about it… parents, teachers, professionals at school including school based police or older friends.
- Do not let a bully threaten you or someone you love into keeping his/her bullying a secret.
- Never keep being bullied a secret!
What you can do if SOMEONE ELSE is being bullied:
- Get friends together and TALK to the bully. Let the bullies in your school know that bullying is not accepted at your school.
- Don’t cheer the bully on or stand around to watch.
- If you see someone being bullied, find someone to help stop it. (Find the nearest friends or adults. Tell someone.)
- Befriend, include, and get to know the person who is being bullied – let him or her know someone cares about them.
What to do about CYBER BULLYING:
- Keep your passwords private… even from friends.
- Never give out personal information (address, schedule, school name, etc.).
- Document the occurrences by saving all emails and texts… Do not delete them.
- If you can block the bully’s messages… DO IT.
- Show any threatening messages to a trusted adult, school official, internet provider, or cell phone company who can take legal action to stop the bully.
- Do not respond to the bully.
- Tell someone you trust about it… parents, teachers, professionals at school including school based police or older friends.
- Do not let a bully threaten you or someone you love into keeping his/her bullying a secret.
- Never keep being bullied a secret!
Suicide Prevention Resources for Rhode Island Residents
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