Have you ever been made fun of and how did you deal?

How can I deal with being made fun of all the time at school?

• I'm already made fun of A LOT for being openly transgender. I'm not too surprised by that one, but it's severely old news so I don't get why people still talk about it. I'm made fun of for being trans, for looking "emo" (even though I was wearing a baggy white hoodie today, so...), and apparently being stupid. Today, in my Chinese class, I had to work in a group with the two people in front of me. The freshman was telling me that I'm stupid, that I look stupid, etc. and when he kept saying that ****, I cussed him out. He left me alone after that because I scared him. They were both treating me like I was stupid because I can't keep up well with the class because it moves too fast and the teacher is ridiculous. Anyway, I memorized what they told me to say and I said it right when we had to present our stuff in front of the class, but they said I said it wrong, when I was just saying what they told me to say. Then they started confusing me and got mad at me because I didn't understand what we were doing, and then the teacher thought I was being stupid and said I wasn't focusing, which I AM, I just can't keep up with the crap she teaches us. I'm made fun of for EVERYTHING. Anything I do or say around people is made fun of, even if it's normal. I act like most other people, but people treat me like I'm so different. I've been made fun of for having depression too.

• Answer:

  Understand "why" people make fun of someone else. They get attention, they gain control, and they perceive themself as better or stronger. They are a bully. As long as they keep getting those things they will be reinforced to keep making fun of you. They will continue to try to bully you. 2 Take away their reinforcement by ignoring them. Often the person who is a bully and makes fun of others, is being reinforced every time they do it. When you completely ignore them, you take away that attention and you do not give them the control over you and your emotions that they want. Completely ignoring a bully, though, means no eye contact. It also means that you do not verbally respond back. Ignoring the bully will help to stop them from making fun of you. It will help to stop you from being the victim of a bully. 3 Be confident. Understand what helps to make someone a target of someone who is a bully. Often the person who is a bully will target people whom they perceive to be weaker. They are much more likely to target a person who is less confident. To show your confidence, stand up straight and hold your head high. Make good direct eye contact. Make sure your voice can be heard clearly. Never act timid or shy or worried around that person. Your confidence will help to stop people from making fun of you. It will keep you from being the target of a bully. Do not listen to them or take what they say personally. It is really hard to not take what a bully says personally when they make fun of you. However, the bully only intends what they say to make someone else feel bad. Whether it is the truth or not has absolutely no factor in what they are saying. It may be true, but that is not why they are saying it. Therefore, if a bully is making fun of you, never let them see you sweat. Never, let them know it bothers you. Believe in yourself. Use self-talk to reinforce your own confidence and feelings by telling yourself what you know to be true and good about yourself. Send the signal that you are not someone they can bully and make fun of. 5 Have a good support system. Associate with positive people who will make you feel good and will help you to forget or ignore anything a bully is saying to you. This will help to stop a bully from making fun of you