Most people have been bullied at some time in their life, even celebs like Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Eminem, Tom Cruise and Sarah-Michelle Gellar. No one deserves to be bullied so, if it's happening to you, you need to know what you can do about it.

Some facts:

• One third of secondary school students are bullied during the course of the school year.
• More than a quarter of students get threats of violence whilst at school; half of these threats have been carried out.
• About 17% of calls to ChildLine are about bullying. For five years running it's been the most common reason people call.
• More 12 year olds call ChildLine about bullying than any other age group.

Source: CoastKid

What is bullying?

Bullying is repeated harassment over a period of time, and is done in a way that makes it difficult for the person being bullied to defend themselves. There are three main types of bullying:

• Verbal – includes teasing and name calling.
• Physical – includes taking personal belongings, pushing, hitting, kicking, punching and sexual abuse (including unwanted physical contact or comments).
• Indirect – includes spreading rumours or gossip about you, excluding you, sending hurtful messages by text, email, phone or post.

Remember, it's the person who's doing the bullying who's in the wrong and there is nothing wrong with you.

What can you do?

• Talk to someone - a friend, teacher, family member or any other adult you can trust.
• Try to stay where there are always other people around - bullies are often quite insecure and may be frightened off.
• If you have a mobile phone, think before you give people the number - only give it to people you can trust not to pass it on.
• If you’re being bullied or abused at home (and it happens more often than you might think), it's really important to speak to someone, from school or from a local youth agency, as soon as possible. They will treat what you say in confidence and not pass it on to the person who is bullying or abusing you.
• Don't just ignore it if you see someone else being bullied. How would you feel if it was you, a family member or a friend and nobody helped out? Try speaking to the person who you think is being bullied and encourage them to seek help.
• Look on the Bullying UK website for more information, or call in to your local Connexions centre and ask to speak to a Personal Adviser.

If you’re bullying others, and need help to stop - the same organisations will be able to help, so get in touch with them.