An 18-year-old university student who was heavily bullied during secondary school has shared how the experience left her deeply affected.
Tegan Davies, from Wales, says she was bullied from year seven to year 11 for being "different” to her peers at her Catholic high school.
Recalling the difficult time she told the Mirror: "I went into year seven and I had a different hair cut and different interests to everyone else, and as a result, I had experiences where people were calling me names.
"I had short hair, like a pixie cut and all the other girls had long beautiful hair. I cut it because I wanted to have short hair but I didn’t realise that was going to be a problem for other people."
"I was called a boy and was told that I was a lesbian- which isn’t even an insult, so then when I came out as bisexual everyone had a problem about that”.
For Tegan the bullying would take place in school as well as outside. On one occasion Tegan shared how she was being followed by a group of girls who tried to hit and kick her in public.
"They were saying horrible stuff about my appearance and my sexuality which really impacted me."
At times the bullying was 'on and off’ Tegan added.
"In year 9, I started to put more of a mask on - I had long hair, I did my make up and I tried to fit in and no one had anything to say, but then it started again"
"In later years I was pushed out of group environments because of my mental health. So, I suffer with depression and anxiety and I had a really rough phase."
Despite feeling that many teachers were not able to do much to help the situation, Tegan’s RE teacher did take notice of Tegan’s scars.
Tegan said: "It took my RE teacher to notice that I had self harmed, who then went to the head of year and then went to the safeguarding officer and called my mum in."
During her early teen years, she was also going in and out of hospital in order to get support for her mental health.
She added: "I went in and out of GP surgeries from the age of nine for my mental health - it took self harm to be referred to CAMHS” (The Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division).
"So I was with CAMHS from when I was 14 or 15 to earlier this year - where I did CBT but it didn't really work and then I was put on medication”
Tegan says she greatly appreciates her boyfriend, Isaac, best friend, Emily and her mum- who had all become her 'close proximity support’ system.
The 18-year-old who is now studying English Literature with Creative writing in Cardiff University, still feels the impact of being bullied during secondary school.
"I'm still really wary of everything, I still feel as if I am different from everyone else even though I have no reason to be," she added.
Tegan is a member of the Welsh Youth Parliament and is now calling for stricter rules in schools and advises those in similar situations to seek help.
She added: "Don't let it get it to the stage that I let it get too where you are feeling so desperately hopeless that you see no other way out and your contemplating suicide or self harming, because it is such a dark place you can fall into and it is something I wouldn’t wish on your worse enemy”.
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie.
