Understanding more

Bullying can show up in different forms, verbal, physical, and or social, and can have serious impacts on the victim’s life. This includes making threats, spreading rumours, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Tips:

• Check in on them
• Acknowledge their pain and validate their feelings     
• Help the friend understand the situation could be bullying and that is not ok
• Discuss how they to want to sort it out (do they want to speak directly to the person together, or maybe even tell a teacher)
• Ask them how you can best be there for them during this time
• Take part in activities you both enjoy

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the holistic concept of Social and Emotional Well-being recognises the importance of connection to land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family, and community. How to best support a friend who identifies as first nation can be different for different mobs and individuals around Australia, so it is always best not to assume, and to check with the person themselves.

13Yarn is an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders run crisis support line. Confidential, culturally safe space to yarn about your needs, worries or concerns. Call 13 92 76

If your friend identifies as a person with a disability, consider information that meets their specific challenges. This might be issues around but not limited to – inclusion, accessibility, discrimination, family troubles or even with social services.

Everyone experiences grief differently, and this takes everyone some time to work through.  While everyone finds their own way to grieve it’s important to have the support of friends to talk about your loss when you need to.

It can feel scary to be there for someone who’s grieving, many people say they do not know what to say or do. However, often it is the simple offer of love and support that is the most important. See the below resources for more information on how you can be there for your grieving friend.