Anti Bullying Week- Sharing Experiences of Bullying

Dancer

Hi everyone,

This week it is Anti-Bullying week and the Community Champions are going to be creating discussions about different aspects of Anti-Bullying. Today it is about Sharing Experiences of Bullying. I hope that you enjoy reading this and that it helps.

Being a victim of bullying can be really hard to cope with and the thought of speaking up or sharing your experiences about it can be absolutely terrifying. But it can give the inspiration for other victims or people who think that they are a victim of bullying to speak up. As well as that, it can also help with confidence. Many victims of bullying do not share their story in case they feel unsafe or they might worry that other people are judging them. This is a very valid worry. It takes so much courage for you to even think about sharing your experiences of being bullied.

Bullying is not just physical and online but it can also be name calling, homophobic, racist, sexist, ableist and ageist. This sometimes really silences victims and can have a serious impact on mental health and you might feel really unmotivated or scared to share your experiences.

Has anyone on here ever experienced bullying? How would you say it had an impact on you? What gave you the courage to speak up and share your experiences of being bullied?

If you need support after reading any of this discussion then there is a lot of support available. 

Dancer

Crisis Messenger are contactable by text, 24/7, and can talk through any urgent issues you're facing: Our crisis messenger text service provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. If you’re aged 25 or under, and are experiencing any painful emotion or are in crisis, you can text THEMIX to 85258.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINEUK for confidential support and practical advice.

Papyrus can help you work on some practical techniques to get you through those intense moments:
Call: 0800 068 4141
Text: 07786209697
Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
Opening hours: 10am – 10pm weekdays, 2pm – 10pm weekends, 2pm – 10pm bank holidays

Samaritans are reachable by phone and email 24/7, and will almost never break your confidentiality:
CALL US
116 123 (UK)
116 123 (ROI)
EMAIL US
jo@samaritans.org (UK)
jo@samaritans.ie (ROI)
Whatever you're going through, call us free any time, from any phone on 116 123. We're here round the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you need a response immediately, it's best to call us on the phone. This number is FREE to call. You don't have to be suicidal to call us.

IMAlive is a free, confidential and secure online chat service. All chats are answered by trained volunteers. Please use a computer for best chat connection (cell phones may cause the chat to disconnect unexpectedly).

Former Member

I was bullied for years - I went to two primary schools (moved from the 1st one to the 2nd one and back to the 1st). Was bullied from about P5 onwards. 

Ended up going to a different high school to the rest of my class because I didn't want to spend 6 more years with them. Ended up getting bullied at the high school I went to and went to the high school I was supposed to go to originally (where my old primary classmates were). It wasn't as bad - I spent a lot of time in the support classroom and spent lunch times in there.

After I moved abroad my coach bullied me pretty badly. She ended up getting suspended a year after I left to go to a different team. (So 2 years after the incidents). 

Anyways I lost a lot of confidence due to the bullying, lost a lot of trust in people and found it harder to make new friends. I don't do good in social situations and constantly feel like I'm being judged or laughed at if I have to do anything in front of others. 

I'm working on this - I feel more comfortable messaging in group chats and I've been contributing in my seminar discussions through the chat bar and occasionally speaking. 

Maisy

I have a difficult relationship with bullying. I struggle to define what I experienced in high school as bullying and often just say I was teased or picked on or something. Sometimes it was one or two people who just didn't like me much, other times it was a 'one off' by people I barely knew. But I'm sure something happened at least every year that I was in school.

It really affected me, especially since I liked school, didn't have many problems in primary school and actually felt optimistic about high school. I did become a shell of myself. I was always upset, depressed and very anxious about going to school, almost every morning. I had a friend from primary who knew that I used to be generally happy, but when I last met up with her when I started university, she could tell that something wasn't right as I just wasn't the same person I used to be. I have low self-worth, tend to avoid things and always worry what others think of me. I'm not sure if I've ever actually told anyone what I went through. But I am getting better- I'm trying not to let negative thoughts hold me back and actually try and take chances to do things now! My entire Masters dissertation was based on bullying as it's an area that I've become quite interested in and hope that my research can help others too  

Former Member

Bit late yea I did see the week when it was up but wasn't so if there was a topic

so my so called friends in primary school used to bully me a lot. It felt like out of jealousy. Kinda felt treated inhuman. Used things like my race etc against me or being weak or slow. I remember after primary school ended they invited me to see a movie and they treated me like terrible I nearly cried at the cinema and no not at the movie. And on the way back they run home and left me behind cuz i cant run that fast. I decided not to follow them back to where they were going and just go straight home cuz whats the point. I wasnt used to walking alone that late but it was still light so yea and I got home, those lot kinda got in trouble for losing me on the way i didnt care. I dunno why I put up with such horrible ppl tbh I guess to fit in. Most of abuse was mental but in the past they used to snatch my hat when i needed it for the sun and they lied to the teacher that they were just having fun with me. They didnt do it to anyone else either. Or tried to pull down my trousers or drag me around.


Later I was a bit bullied too a bit by ppl like in language lessons and things. For a lot of school tho i didnt really have any good friends it just sucked really.