An Introduction... :)

Hi! My Name Is Neona and this, is my first post. I'm here to do a blog on bullying, how it affects people and how to stop it. I’m hoping to help you as much as I can and offer the best advice I can give.
Bullying is made out to be a small problem that very rarely happens in our society, whereas in truth it's a serious problem that very many people endure, especially in secondary schools. This blog isn't only to condone bullying, but I'm hoping to show you the extent of bullying from a perspective that you can relate to easier instead of boring you with unnecessary facts long lectures :)                                             
Come Back Regularly To Keep Updated With My Bullying Blog!
Neona :)x

First, Some Not So Boring Statistics (Hopefully)

Here are some Statistics on bullying from recent years (Collected From: http://www.nspcc.org.uk)                                                              

• 38% of young people have been affected by cyber-bullying.
• 38% of young people have been affected by cyber-bullying, with abusive emails (26%) and text messages (24%) being the most common methods.
• 28% of children did not tell anyone about the abuse.
• A survey of pupils in England estimates that 16,493 young people aged 11-15 are frequently absent from state school or home educated because of bullying.

These aren't great statistics... They are really saddening :( They show that bullying is common, that it's everywhere and that in many cases it goes unsolved. '28% of children did not tell anyone...' this 28% may not seem like a lot but it still means that there are people that have kept their problems to themselves and have not spoken about it to anyone. they feel completely alone. BUT... They don't have to be. If people just looked out for each other friends or not, and tried to stop bullying the statistics would drop rapidly. (and no I'm NOT saying that you should jump right in and act like a superhero because the odds are you will be bullied too!) But by telling someone, A Parent, Guardian Bestfriend, Brother, Sister, Grandma, Granddad... (the list can go on and on and on but you get the message) Just let them know what's happening and you will find that "a problem shared is a problem halved" :) 
Feel Free To Leave questions In The Comments! I'm Here To Halve Bullying Problems.  
Neona :)x  

What Does Bullying Do To People?

We all know that bullying affects people in many ways... But do you know the extent as to how much it actually affects people?

Depression
A common result of being bullied is depression. Depression is a serious condition where over a long period of time someone constantly feeling sadness, discouragement, despair, or hopelessness. Depression affects more than a person's mood. It drains the energy, motivation, and concentration a person needs for normal activities.

Destroys Confidence
Bullying can easily zero your confidence to a point where you can't even be yourself anymore... You feel that whatever you do, you'll be judged, laughed at and ridiculed. You turn in on yourself, feeling fragile, keeping quiet and hardly interacting with others at all.

Causes Self Harm
Self harm is a serious topic. It shouldn't happen as often as it does, however so many victims of bullying turn to hurting themselves as a result of the actions of others... People seem to feel as if it is a way to escape the hurt of bullying, but in truth you just end up with wounds on top of the original pain.
Suicide
This by far is the worst consequence of bulling. Victims are tormented so bad to an extent where they feel the only way to escape is to take their own lives.

So you can see that bullying has a huge effect on the lives of others and can easily ruin so many things in a person's life whether present, or future.

I have been picked on before :), and whether you take my advice to heart or not I'd just like to say that taking your own life should never be an option. You need to know that there is a way to escape bullying, and you do not have to do it alone. It can, and will end.

If You Want To Ask Any Questions, Or Talk To Me, Just Leave A Comment :)
Neona :)x

What IS Bullying?

Okay, this seems like the beginning of a meaningless post, but I PROMISE it isn't!

So What Is Bullying?
Bullying is considered a crime in some places, I personally agree and think it should be made an offence in every country. :) 
You see, bullying is not only a physical assault, it can verbal, it can be written, it could be anything. The definition of bullying is to: 'Use superior strength or influence to intimidate someone...' This superior strength could be height, popularity, it could even be riches; but as long as it is used to harass others and cause them emotional distress, it IS bullying. It's not just a one time thing either, it's repeatedly, over and over again for weeks, months, years.
Is There Only One Bully If It's A Group?
No there doesn't have to be only one bully. If... Let's say x is a bully, and x bullies y... But x has a large group of friends who surround him/her and cheer him/her on but do not say/do anything directly to the victim; would they still be classed as bullies? Well in my opinion yes. You are standing there edging someone on, you aren't telling them to stop, you are encouraging them. And therefore I would class that as bullying. Do You agree?

Um, So That's It Really... :D Any Questions? Just Leave Questions In The Comments :)
Neona :)x

Point Of View Of A Victim...

So this is what it may feel like to be a victim of bullying. I may be wrong but this is what I imagine goes through the mind of a victim. Hopefully you'll get the gist of things maybe clear up any curiosities you have.

P.O.V Of A Victim
*set in a school*
So I'm guessing you may has seen or heard a lot of people say: 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.' For most people I can say this really isn't true. words hurt. A LOT. Whether they are true of not, if they are repeatedly said to you, you will begin to believe it yourself. You'll start to think of yourself as 'worthless' or 'ugly' and slowly you lose confidence in yourself and your self esteem reduces to zero.
Everyday is a struggle, where you know exactly what to expect, but still you're filled with anxiety every time you enter the classroom. You hear every word said. And with each word, you sink deeper and deeper into depression. People say 'take no notice' but it's pretty much impossible, as they make sure that you notice everything they do. And there's no point in telling anyone, everyone will find out about it and it will just get worse.
I Wonder why was I put on the earth in the first place if I wasn't wanted? Why me? What did I do?

Ok, so you can see that the life of a victim isn't great. Everyday they are faced with the struggles of being bullied. Alone.
Words cut like knives... And we need to realise that. But what victims need to realise is that we are here to help. It may seem like going to someone is an overreaction or that the bullying will get worse, but I promise it really is the best option ♥

So I hope you liked the little P.O.V thing, my next post will be similar but from another perspective.
You can leave any questions in the comments :)
Neona :)x

All Words Said Are Rubbish, It May Be Hard To Realise, But It's True :)

Point Of View Of A Bully...

So my last post was on what it feels to be a victim of bullying, and so I decided that this post should be on what it may feel like to actually be a bully. Bullies are always seen as the bad guys... And yeah I agree, but I think at times they deserve a second chance. I don't mean to say that bullying is okay, but I think that the bully can be forgiven in certain circumstances. Anyway, here it is... :)
*this may not be the real cause of why people bully, it's just one idea*
*I also have nothing against the name Autumn, I really like it actually*

P.O.V Of A Bully
People have such perfect lives... And yet I have nothing. No one likes me, my family is torn and my parents don't care about me. And yet I see people with such great lives and they just take it for granted. They don't deserve it.
I see a girl, I think her name is Autumn. She's new here, small, shy and insecure from what I've seen. I don't know why though... Her life is great. She's poor, but she's got a really nice family and they're together. Ugh, the fact that she doesn't even know how lucky she is makes my skin crawl.
I approach her making sure to look big and fierce and say 'You're new.' she looks up and her eyes widen slightly and my towering frame 'Uhhhhh, yeah hi umm I'm Au-u-utumn'. Her nerves are showing. Good. I burst out laughing at he sound of her name, 'AUTUMN? Ha, what a name... what happens in the other seasons? do you just disappear?' I barge past her before she has the time to reply knocking her books over in the process. As she bends down I see her face is bright red and a single tear runs down her cheek. I sneer boasting internally at the power I have over her.

Bullies are not just people who find fun in harassing others, on the inside they may be hurt, with problems and worries kept inside. They turn to bullying to make themselves feel better, but in reality it doesn't. They need to be shown that hurting others is not the way to help themselves, and that what they are doing is really wrong.
Do you agree that bullies deserve a chance and that their sides of the story should be told?
Feel Free To Leave Any Views Or Questions In The Comments.
Neona :)x

Is It Okay For Victims To Retaliate?

So the video you're about to watch is of a 15 year old victim 'Casey' who had been bullied for a long time. One day, after being repeatedly punched and harassed, he finally had enough and fought back. What I want to address is that, is what he did okay? Did he do the right thing? Any way here's the video :)

Sorry, the footage isn't in great quality but you could see what was going on right? The taller boy standing towards the wall is Casey, and the smaller one is Richard. We see Richard punch and continually hit at Casey who just seems to try and defend himself but not really make any attempt to hit back. But then it gets too much and Casey snaps, grabbing Richard and slamming him face first to the ground. I'll tell you the truth, at first I was rooting for Casey, thinking 'Well Done For Finally Standing Up For Yourself!' but then I realised that Richard could have been severely injured or even ended up with a disability.

Next, I found two interviews of the 'bully' and the 'victim'. They were two different accounts of the situation and contradicted completely.

CASEY

So you can see here that Casey had been through a tough time in his life, his friends had left him, and he'd been left alone to be teased and picked on every day for three years.
You can see from the clips in the report, that people were cheering him on, congratulating him on his 'success'. Do you think this is right?
He also acknowledges the fact that he could have severely hurt Richard but doesn't think he overreacted. What do you think?

     

RICHARD

So here we have the alleged 'bully'. He claims that he himself was a victim of Casey's bullying and that we have only seen one perspective of the story. Do you think this is genuine account? Or do you think he is lying straight to your face? Maybe we have only seen one side but we can never know...

So what do you think?!?

Leave Your Response In The Comments!

Neona :)x

How To Go From Witness To Helper :)

At some point in our lives, I'm pretty sure we've all witnessed bullying. Whether we did something about it is another story altogether. What I'm hoping to show you in this post is what you should do, and how to approach victims of bullying.

1) Speak The Victim Before Making Assumptions

You can never know the entire situation just by watching from the sidelines. You need to approach the victim, don't intrude and don't force anything, just ask what's happening, if they're okay and if they want help or if they want to talk to anyone. Most likely they'll say no but that's where you need to assess the situation, to see how serious the bullying is. Speak to an adult you trust, asking them what they think, and if it feels appropriate, tell whoever's in charge of where the bullying happens. e.g. school.

2) Don't Force Things

The last thing you want to do is force yourself onto someone who's in a fragile state, you will just end up pushing them further away from you, and break their trust. Just let them say what they need to say, and ask little questions here and there. Take your time. :)

3) Don't Make The Situation Public

There's nothing worse than having everyone know your business. You need to make sure the situation is only between those who need to be involved, because 9 times out of 10 you'll make things worse by telling the world what's happening.

So that's just three tips on how to go from just being a witness to actually helping someone tackle bullying :)

Leave Any Questions In The Comments!

Neona :)x

Just A Little Picture I Made To Remind You Not To Let Bullies Get To You :)

Celebrities That Have Overcome Bullying

You've probably heard of Demi Lovato, she's an accomplished actress and singer with talent and charm. However there's more to her story than just fame. She was also bullied as a child, she was called names, she was teased and taunted, ad eventually that had a serious effect on her life. She started starving herself, she was bulimic, she was anorexic, and eventually she started cutting. 

Eventually she got help. Now look where she is! She's a successful artist and the idol of many young people. What makes her special however, is the fact that she speaks out about her bullying experience, and she is evidence that bullying should never put you down, it should make you stronger.

Another victim of bullying is Justin Timberlake, he was bullied as a child for having different interests and for doing something thing that later in life would make him a star. He shows that bullying can make you stronger, drive you towards your dreams and that eventually you'll get the last laugh :)

Leave Any Questions In The Comments!

Neona :)x