The document discusses several social issues including bullying, LGBT hate, depression, and suicide. It provides statistics and information on the different forms of each issue, warning signs, and advice on how to help those struggling. Forms of bullying discussed include physical, verbal, emotional, and cyber bullying. The document emphasizes treating others with kindness and respect regardless of attributes like sexual orientation or preferences in clothing brands.

2.  Forms of bullying:
 Physical – any violence or property
damage or stealing
 Verbal – teasing, name
calling, spreading rumors
 Emotional – acting a certain way to
hurt another person’s feelings like
embarrassing someone
Meredith Farmer “My biggest fear” December
 Cyber – texts, instant messages, and 13, 2006 via Flickr CC BY NC ND
social networks are used to
offend, embarrass, or threaten
someone

3.  Imagine if Hollister brand clothing wasn’t
considered cool. Would you still like it? Would
you still wear it? Probably not because you know
you would get teased for it. Now what about the
people that have the guts to wear what they like.
Should they really be punished for expressing
themselves?
Isai Zepeda “Hollister.” July 12, 2009 by Isa's Photography via Flickr CC BY NC SA

4.  Statistics:
 2.7 million students are being bullied each year
 2.1 million students are bullies
 160,00 kids (15%) who miss school every day
say it’s because they fear of being bullied
 Cyber bullying has increased more than any
other type of bullying due to social networking
sites like Facebook
 Half of the suicides among teens are related to
bullying

5.  The Golden Rule: treat others how you want to be
treated.
 Ask friends to help defend you and offer emotional
support.
 Ignoring bullies doesn’t always work, so just don’t
show them that you’re scared. Confront them in a
confident tone and with assertive body language.
 Don’t bully back.
 Don’t take a long time to act, get help the minute you
are being bullied.
 If you see someone else being bullied, tell the bully
to stop in the same way if you were being bullied.
Get other friends involved too; there’s power in
numbers.

6.  LGBT stands for “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender”.
 Forms of LGBT Hate:
 Saying “that’s so gay” meaning that something is
stupid or uncool.
 Bullying someone because they are not straight.
(What do you know, there’s that bullying issue
again…)
 Threatening someone or being violent to someone
who is LGBT.
Mktp “Rainbow Flag” May 30, 2009 via Flickr CC BY NC SA

7.  Imagine that instead of the term “that’s so gay”
being popular, “that’s so straight” was a popular
term to describe something negatively. If you’re
straight, how would you feel if someone said
that?
 Now (if you’re straight) imagine if you were gay.
Think of everything you’d have to go through
just to be who you are. Coming out, telling your
parents and friends, dealing with bullies, finding
a partner and wanting to get married. How would
you feel if you were hated and discriminated
against just for who you’re naturally attracted to?
Mktp “Sous le même drapeau” May 30, 2009 via Flickr CC BY NC SA

8.  Statistics:
 LGBT teens are 2-3 times more likely to commit
suicide than straight teens.
 4 out of 5 gay kids believe they have no adults at
school that would help them.
 28% of gays drop out of school, which is over 3 times
the national average of straight students.

9.  Instead of saying “that’s so gay” say “that’s lame”.
 If you hear someone say “that’s so gay”, politely ask
them to not say it because it’s offensive.
 Offensive things you shouldn’t say to gay people:
 It’s a choice
 It’s a sin/It’s against God/You’ll go to hell
 It’s unnatural
 You can’t reproduce that way
 Instead of fighting back, try to discuss your
differences rationally.

10.  Statistics:
 About 121 million people in the world suffer from
depression; 18 million in the USA.
 20% of teens will suffer from depression at some
point before they become an adult.
 Depression that goes untreated often results in self-
injury, addiction, or even suicide.
 Each year, about 1 million people die from suicide.
 Suicide is one of the top 3 leading cause of death in
people ages 15-44.
 Suicide among young adults is increasing the fastest

11.  Warning Signs & Symptoms:
 Unusual irritability
 Fatigue
 Difficulty with sleeping
 Hopelessness or pessimism
 Unusually low self-esteem
 Hard time concentrating or remembering
 Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
 Thoughts of death or suicide
Photo: Sander van der Wel “Depressed” May 29, 2010 via Flickr CC BY SA

12.  Warning Signs & Symptoms:
 Talking about suicide
 Feeling hopeless and helpless
 Self-hatred
 Saying goodbye
 Isolating themselves
 Reckless behavior
 Uncommon fascination with death or violence
 Trying to obtain objects used for suicide
 Sudden happiness after being depressed
 Decided to commit suicide
Photo: shattered.art66 “Depression” March 20, 2009 via Flickr CC BY ND

13.  Helping a Relative or Friend with Depression:
 Try not to take their symptoms personally
 Don’t ignore it; talk to them about it and get help for them
 Don’t think “It’ll get better by itself”
 You cannot make someone else’s depression go away
 Listen to them the right way – don’t judge or argue
 Suicide Prevention:
 Talk to the person you’re worried about
 Be careful about what you say and how you say it
 Get help for them from a professional
 Act immediately if the suicidal risk is severe
 Don’t leave the person alone
 Get rid of all lethal objects that could be used in a suicide

14. Bullying:
 http://www.ranchopicojuniorhigh.com/counseling/Rancho%20Pico%20Website_files/page0024.htm
 http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-statistics-2010.html
LGBT Hate:
 http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/children-s-mental-health/bullying-and-gay-youth
 http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/gay-bullying-statistics.html
Depression and Suicide:
 http://www.twloha.com/facts/
 http://www.ifred.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=116&Itemid=532
 http://www.helpguide.org/mental/living_depressed_person.htm
 http://www.helpguide.org/mental/suicide_prevention.htm