It breaks my heart when I see people I care about suffering especially when they are at the center of bullying.  It’s so easy to hide behind a handle and say hurtful words.  Then, when you add likes and shares to the bullying it can make it worse.  Think twice about liking or sharing hurtful messages.  If someone had said hurtful words or posted negative pictures of you, would you appreciate people adding to the conversation?  Most likely not.  Behind every post is a real person with real feelings.

Here is what you can do to help someone deal with online bullying:

1. Encourage them to talk to the person.  If it is a close friend or you feel strong enough to talk to the person – do it privately.  Make sure to state the facts, share how their behaviors impacted you, and gently check in with them to see how they are doing.  Maybe they are struggling personally and don’t have the skills to talk about it.
2. Report the user and document.  Document the posts by taking screenshots, print the emails, or screenshots of the phone calls or text.  This may come in handy if you need to report to the social media platforms or the police.  Harassment is a crime.
3. Block the user and don’t retaliate.  Yes, this may seem super easy & common sense.  Yet, our emotion mind (e.g. anger, hurt, sadness) pulls us back in by tempting us to react and fight back.  Don’t fight fire with more fire.  No one ever wins.
4. Take a social media break.  Yep, I said it.  No social media especially if the person has access to all your platforms. 
5. Take care of you & tell yourself 3 positive self-statements.  We don’t have control of others, but we have control how we feel about ourselves.  You are amazing and beautiful!  No one can take that away from you. 

​As always, check out our Resiliency Resource page! 

The past couple of days have been devastating for the Santa Clarita Valley.  We are all heartbroken by the recent shooting at Saugus High School. It is hard not to feel helpless and not know how to comfort your child or yourself as you attempt to process this tragedy.  Here are few things you can do to cope and encourage healing. ​