[Palmolive]

Hi Luke.

I am so glad you have reached out to us here for some help and I hope we can help you in one way or another.

Going through being bullied can be a really hard thing to manage and I can relate to that from being bullied in the past but know that this isn't going to last okay? I know its hard to cope with but you hurting yourself on top of that isn't going to help and you honestly do not deserve to be causing yourself any more pain or hurt. Self harming isn't going to make the situation you're in any better. It's not going to solve any of the problems you're going through and its certainly not going to help how you are feeling in the long run. But it does become additive and often a lot of us who do self harm find it hard to stop and I would hate it for you to get to that point.

Talking to someone about all of this can really help. You've done great by starting to reach out to us here but you haven't gone into a lot of detail so if you want to talk to us more, then please, feel free too and we'll try our best to help you as much as we can. We're not here to judge you or anything like that. But we do care about you and want whats best for you. It might also be worth talking to someone at your school about how you feel and whats going on. I know that can be scary but it can also really help. Teachers can be really helpful people to talk to and so can school nurses/counselors. Don't be afraid to reach out to these people for some support. They can really help you. And if its school you are being bullied at then know that most schools now have anti-bullying policies in place and do not tolerate any kind of bullying and therefore will have strategies on how to manage the bullying and how to hope you cope with it.

Using general distractions can really help though. Things like listening to music, meeting with friends, writing, reading, cleaning, going out, watching a film, being around others, doing art work etc can just help us focus on something else for a while other than the self harm thoughts and then the self harm thoughts tend to drift off. You can even make your own list of things to do when you are struggling because you know what helps you the best and the most and thats important.

I know all of this is real hard on you right now but know it gets easier and better and that you are never alone in this. Fighting is hard but its also worth it and you ARE worth the fight and so is your future. Just hang on in there and keep at it and don't be alone, ever, especially when you are struggling the most. People can and want to help you but you have to let them in in order for them to do so. Being bullied is a horrible thing, but listen to me when I say you are worth a hell of a lot more than that and don't deserve it at all. Don't let these bullies get you down; instead reach out for help on how to manage and deal with and get help for it too. Beat this and we'll be right behind you all of the way so please don't suffer in silence.

Take good care of yourself and stay strong. You've got this.
Jessie