Friendships, Conflict and Bullying

Supporting our friends and those around us is not only good for other peoples wellbeing, it's good for us too! We are much more likely to open up to someone who we know and who is likely to have experienced similar things to us. Research has shown that caring for others, and demonstrating empathy, significantly increases our ability to practice gratitude and experience satisfaction in our daily lives. However, it is important when supporting others to ensure healthy boundaries are in place, that we are looking after ourselves, and that we know how to approach difficult conversations in a constructive, supportive and understanding way. If you're worried about someone you care about, it can sometimes be difficult to know how to help. It might prepare beforehand and have a good sense of what you want to achieve in the conversation. Likewise, using active listening skills and empathy to ensure the other person feels heard and understood. Rather than looking for solutions, sometimes a friend might just need someone to lean on, so it's a good idea to practice listening and responding without judgement.

While supporting our friends is important, it's also really important to seek the right kind of help for difficult issues. At school, this means checking in with year advisors, and ensuring that both we and the people around us are safe. It might be necessary to talk about seeking help, from a doctor or other health professional. The Wellbeing Hub is a great resource, but it's always a good idea to encourage friends to seek a trusted adult to get further support.

There are many services that can support people, including you, if you need to have talk through what is going on. Besides the support available at school, the following 24 hour contacts may also be good to know;

• Life Threatening Emergencies 000

• Lifeline 13 11 14

• Mental Health Line 1800 011 511

• Suicide Callback Service 1300 659 467

• Kids Helpline (for young people up to 25 yrs) 1800 55 1800

• Domestic Violence Hotline 1800 656 463

• Sexual Assault Helpline 1800 737 732

• Men’s Line Australia 1300 789 978

Apps

The Check-in App developed by Beyond Blue, is designed to support anyone wanting to support a friend but is concerned about saying the wrong thing or making the situation worse. The app takes you through four super easy and super quick steps, on how you can create a supportive environment for your friend.

Online Resources

•   The Centre for Clinical Interventions has a great library of resources to support friends no matter what they are facing.

• If you want some ideas on how to be more assertive when you are looking after friends you might want to check out this resource.

• The R U OK website has a lot of really great resources that can help you support a mate