Friends
Throughout your childhood and adult life you will build healthy relationships from birth and develop friendships.
Friendships if you have a disability
Having a social life can sometimes be challenging. This can be particularly so if you have a disability or additional needs.
Accessibility barriers can make it difficult to join in with activities or stay included in your friendship group. These barriers could be social, physical or sensory. They could be other people’s attitudes or the activity itself.
But going to new places and having different experiences can help you find out what you can do, the support you need and what’s accessible. It can also help you learn how to deal with different social situations and challenges.
Top tips for making friends
Making friends can be hard. It can take time.
If you want to make some friends but don’t know how to get started, there are some things you can do.
Mencap have produced a useful guide with tips and ideas.
Making friends
It’s natural to want to have supportive friends, to feel accepted and valued for who you are and to fit in.
You can have different types of friends. Some friends are good for having a laugh with and sharing your favourite hobbies. Other friends can be there when you want to pour your heart out.
The number of friends you have isn’t important. What matters is having friends that you’re close to, who support you and won’t try to hurt you or bully you.
You might be busy with other things in your life such as being a young carer and have less time to make friends, or you may feel shy in front of other people.
But these things don’t have to stop you making friends.
Get help with friendship problems
Friends can be there to enjoy the best times, and they can help us when we’re feeling down. But sometimes friendships have problems. It can be hard to know what to do.
Friends can be there for you and be an important source of mental health support. But sometimes, you might find that you aren’t getting along, or you no longer feel comfortable in your friendship group. If you are feeling like this, our page has tips and advice that can help.
Peer pressure
It can be tempting to do everything you can to fit in with your friends. But if you don’t feel comfortable with something it’s always okay to say “no”.
Peer pressure means feeling like you have to do something because people around you want you to or expect you to. It might be to make someone else happy or to fit in with a new group. It’s okay to say no if you don’t want to or feel uncomfortable. You have the right to choose what’s best for you, even if it’s not what other people think is best.
Bullying
If somebody repeatedly hurts you, or verbally abuses you, that’s bullying.
Specific types of bullying include:
- Homophobic bullying based on your sexual orientation
- Racist bullying because of your skin colour or ethnicity
- Religious bullying because of your beliefs or faith
- Sizeist bullying referring to your body size
- Sexist bullying focusing on you being of the opposite sex
- Cyberbullying targeting you online, often anonymously
- Bullying because you are different
Bullying can be a one-off or it can go on for a long time. And bullying can happen to anyone.