Middle-class schoolboy, 12, hangs himself after 'bullies taunt he spoke too politely'

Teachers can actually do a lot more than they currently do, they just need to be trained to recognise the signs of bullying.

I've been in classes where bullies have been stealing kids' stuff, calling them names etc. literally right in front of the teacher and the teacher has just ignored it, or taken it as 'teasing'.

It's actually not that hard to spot the odd one out in a class of kids. They'll be the kid who's on their own, the one who always gets picked last for teams, who, as in this case, has an accent different to the other kids, is the only black kid, has obviously never heard of make up etc. These kids need to be recognised as vulnerable, kept an eye on. Teachers need to take a hard line if they see anything happening, and help the kid to get more involved with their social group. I'd love to see a school one day that put on self-esteem/social skills classes, which is often what a lot of bullied kids lack.

But of course, teachers need the freedom, money and training to be able to do this stuff.

Why not in America or Israel? I'm afraid I am not seeing your point.

It's comments like this that make this problem socially unacceptable to talk about. Have you ever been depressed, Yawn11? Have you ever felt like you'll never feel any other emotion again, like you're already dead inside? Like you're a burden on everyone around you, and the world would be better off without you? Lived every waking moment in internal agony? I'm guessing you'll answer 'no', and in that case, don't talk about something you know absolutely nothing about.

"The charity Depression Alliance estimates that each year there are around 19,000 suicide attempts by UK adolescents whilst more than 2 million children attend GP's surgeries with some kind of psychological or emotional problem."

"As a society, people aren't taught how to express anger, so we internalise it. Directing anger inwards is a cause of depression.

Targets eventually arrive at a situation where the internalised anger is so great that, like a pressure cooker, some release of the pressure is needed. Rather than resort to violence against others, the target of bullying (usually a person of high integrity) is most likely to direct the violence onto themselves, thus self-harm and attempted suicide. Compare this noble act with the cowardice and thuggery of the bully. "

http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/selfharm.htm if you want to read more.

Some facts:
At least 16 children commit suicide because of bullying (the true total could be much higher)
At least 19,000 children attempt suicide - one every half hour
Suicide is now the number one cause of death for 18-24-year-old males
Half of university students showed signs of clinical anxiety whilst more than 10% suffered from clinical depression.

Oh, and just so you know, depression is an ILLNESS. It's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Would you say someone with diabetes is "weak"? They have an imbalance, just of something different.

A third of people will have depression at some point in their lives.

It's nothing to be ashamed of.

Would you say I am weak minded, Yawn11? I have OCD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. I used to have clinical depression, and yes, I developed it after being bullied. Does that make me weak in your eyes?

It's ignorance like this that makes mental health problems get swept under the rug, and then people don't know where to turn to. It's the same as every other illness, and society needs to start viewing it as such.

I'm not trying to insult you, but I am quite offended at your ignorance.

Sincerly, a former depressive.

Yes I do! Many are bullied every single day and it usually DOESN'T result in suicide, because most people are smart enough to know that is not the answer.


Here is the harsh reality:

In most cases, suicide is carried out by the weak-minded.

Which is why I pity them, they wasted their life and hurt the one's that actually care for them. I've nothing else to say on the matter.