You’re Not Being Dramatic, You Deserve Respect

Understanding and demanding respect helps teenagers build confidence and positive relationships, essential for personal development and wellbeing.

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As you grow and experience new things, you'll find yourself in various situations where how you're treated really matters. In friendships, at school, and even in family life, feeling respected can make a huge difference to your confidence and happiness. But what does it mean to be respected, and why is it so important, especially for someone your age?

Understanding Respect

Respect is a feeling of being valued and taken seriously by others. It's about being treated in a thoughtful and kind manner. It's not just about people listening when you talk, but also about them considering your feelings and needs as important. When people respect you, they acknowledge your rights, opinions, and individuality.

Why Is Respect Important?

During your teenage years, you're developing a sense of self. This means you're figuring out who you are and what you stand for. Being respected by others helps you feel more confident and secure in your own identity.

Respect from teachers, friends, and parents can help you feel supported and appreciated. It makes it easier to reach out for help and encourages you to share your thoughts and ideas without fear of being ridiculed or dismissed. This is important for your mental and emotional growth.

Signs of Disrespect

Understanding what disrespect looks like can help you identify and address it. Disrespect can be obvious, like someone calling you names or bullying you. However, it can also be subtle, as in cases where someone constantly interrupts you, ignores your opinions, or makes fun of your interests.

Other signs of disrespect include:

You're Not Being Dramatic, You Deserve Respect
  • People making decisions about you without asking you first.
  • Friends who don't defend you when others speak badly about you.
  • Being left out of group activities intentionally.

These behaviours can make you feel small, unwanted, or insecure, which is why it's important to recognise them.

How Disrespect Can Affect You

Feeling disrespected can lead to a range of emotions. You might feel sad, angry, or even confused. It can make you doubt your worth and abilities, which can affect your academic performance and interest in school activities. You may also feel less inclined to socialise and participate in things you usually enjoy.

Over time, if you don't address these feelings, they could lead to more serious issues like depression and anxiety. That's why it's crucial to understand that you deserve respect and learn how to demand it in a healthy way.

Strategies to Ensure You Are Respected

Here are some practical ways you can encourage and maintain respect in your daily interactions:

Communicate Clearly and Assertively

Tell people how their actions make you feel. Use I' statements to express your feelings without blaming others. For example, say "I feel ignored when you talk over me." This keeps the focus on your feelings and doesn't attack the other person.

Set Boundaries

Decide what you're comfortable with and what you're not. Let others know these boundaries and insist that they respect them. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable or disrespected in any way, be firm and remind them of your limits.

Choose Respectful Friends

Your friends should make you feel good about yourself. If you're often feeling down or disrespected after hanging out with certain people, it might be time to reconsider those friendships. Surround yourself with people who uplift and respect you.

Respect Yourself

It's hard for others to respect you if you don't respect yourself. Value your own thoughts, feelings, and wishes. Stand up for yourself when necessary. When you show that you respect yourself, others are more likely to respect you too.

Ask for Help

If you're struggling with feelings of disrespect, especially if it's affecting your wellbeing, talk to someone you trust. This could be a parent, teacher, or school counsellor. Sometimes, just talking about how you feel can make a big difference.

Respect is not just about being polite. It's about recognising and considering another person's feelings, wishes, and rights. As a young person building your identity, respect from others supports your growth into an assured and happy individual. Always remember that you deserve to be treated with respect and don't settle for less.

How are you feeling?

It is really important that when we need help, we feel able to ask for it. This could be speaking to a parent, a close friend, a teacher or someone else you trust. Sometimes it can be really hard to share our feelings with other people but if we are feeling low or don't know where to turn, sharing with others is really important. Teachers will always take you seriously and listen to your problems in confidence if you approach them for help. Likewise, parents, siblings or friends will help you if you reach out to them.

If you feel like you can't speak to anyone you know, there are people and organisations that can help support you:

  • Childline - Call them on 0800 1111 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
  • NSPCC - Call them on 0808 800 5000 between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday or email them on help@NSPCC.org.uk
  • The Samaritans – Call them on 116 123 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
  • SANE – Call 0300 304 7000 for support (4:30pm - 10:30pm every day)
  • Mind – Call 0300 123 3393 (9:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday)

*Sometimes we will use real life examples in our articles to aid understanding. When we do, names and ages will be changed.