Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Abusive relationships:
“My friend dug her nails into my skin.”
Hey Terra,
Last weekend I was with a friend and she dug her nails into my skin and I got a bad cut on my arm. And today at school I was sitting eating lunch and she came and says "Scoot over." and I didn't so she goes to the other side and she starts pushing me. And and all of a sudden she pushes my arm and my arm locks and it is in screaming pain and it has been hurting all day.I am really mad at her and she knew I was in a lot of pain but she didn't say sorry.
She doesn't have a lot of friends and a lot of people don't like her. I talked to her about things like this earlier this school year and she hasn't changed and I don't know what I should do. I don't want to hang out with her but she wants to hang out with me. What should I do??????
Help
Dear Help,
Tell her that you are no longer willing to put up with her violent behavior. Tell her that you do not trust her and you are going to protect yourself -- not by fighting back, but by getting away from her as soon as you see her. If she's not sure what you're talking about, remind her about the cut she caused on your arm and the pushing.
Do NOT put up with this one day more.
If she comes near you... MOVE away.
Friends do not treat each other this way and until she can get her violent behavior under control, then you are not going to be friends with her. That means no contact.
If you need some help protecting yourself from her, talk to the school counselor or the vice principal.
Got it?
I hope this helps.
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
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