Who am I?

I'm Szadia and I'm 14 years old. I wanted to write an article about disability and mental health because my best friend has a disability and I know life is hard for her.

My Friend

I met my friend in my school 4 years ago and she has a disability called Bilateral Talipes. This is commonly referred to as "Clubfoot" which is where the muscles in her leg are weak which means that her foot points inwards rather than forwards. This is something she was born with and she had a lot of operations when she was younger and she didn’t start walking until she was 7 years old because she was in the wheelchair since she was born.

When I first knew her we weren’t friends because I didn’t know her background story and I knew she was different so just didn’t know how to befriends with her. But then I got to know her better as a human being that just wants to have a normal life, and then I started to understand how life is really hard for her.

Life for her is very hard - she has been bullied in school since she was 8 years old and she has been physically assaulted. She struggles with mental health and low moods because people always say mean things about her, and I just see her cry everyday and wanting her life to end. She says lots of negative things about herself like:

· I'm worthless

· I'm useless

· No one wants me here

She even writes on her hands "I should go die" and then she self harms.

Why are people bullied?

The Guardian says that more than half (53%) of young people who experienced bullying based on their appearance said they had become anxious as a result and 29% had become depressed. One in 10 said they had had suicidal thoughts and 9% that they had self-harmed.

Denise Hatton, the chief executive of YMCA England and Wales, said: “It’s crucial that we teach young people how to feel comfortable in their own body and that looking different isn’t a bad thing. Educating young people about the effects of bullying alongside body confidence will help to tackle this issue where it’s most prevalent, schools." The organisation spoke to 1,006 children aged 11 to 16 for the report. It found that for 54% of those who had experienced appearance-based bullying, it had started by the age of 10 and 51% said that friends were the culprits.

I think people become bullies because they are jealous of someone or something a person owns. They might also bully others because they are having family issues at home. Some people can feel a bit insecure sometimes so they make other people feel down or upset to make them feel better about themselves.

It makes me feel upset because I know how it feels to be bullied because I have been bullied as well. She cries and I feel bad for her because not many people understand what its like to have a disability. When she says negative things about herself it makes me feel down because I can't help her but just watch her suffer in pain. When I try say nice things she refuses them, and sometimes she even has panic attacks in school, and I don’t know what else I can do to help her.

It really frustrates me when I see people bully others because of their disability because I think they should respect that person if they don’t know what they are going through. She has suffered with depression, panic attacks, anxiety and self harming – her life is hard enough as it is without people making fun of her. People should be kinder when people struggle, not meaner.

#iDare…...TO BE KIND