Saima Ikram
A deliberate and repeated attempt to cause harm to someone with lesser power is categorized as bullying. The distinctive pattern of harming and humiliating others is very common especially for the younger and weaker children. There is always someone we know who has been a victim of bullying at school, perhaps you yourself were a victim at one time. The school time passes on but the impact of bullying can ruin the rest of your life. This reason may make you feel anxious in a social situation and makes you avoid large groups of people. These things, however, add up as you grow and make you depressed for the rest of your life.
Certain studies carried on bullying have revealed that bullying victims are almost twice as likely to suffer from depression as those who have never been bullied. Also, the victims of bullying are often at an increased risk of having anxiety disorders and suicidal thoughts. Moreover, bullied victims are less likely to receive higher education which makes them earn lower salaries than their non-bullied peers.
If this has happened to you in your childhood and still suffer from it in a workplace, following are some of the practical steps you can take to deal with a bullying colleague or partner:
Understand your worth:
Sometimes bullying at an older age is experienced from people you usually find hard to blame. But no matter what the relationship is, don’t allow any family member, friend, or a colleague to bully you. Don’t think that you have done something and you deserve a bad behavior from a loved one even. Know your worth and value yourself as an individual and don allow anyone to deprive you of happiness in life.
Don’t blame yourself:
It often happens that you blame yourself for being victimized and consider it your fault to be treated wrongly. This is not about what you have done or could have done; it is about someone else’s needs for dominance and preying on a perceived weaker target. Therefore, do not give it into a bully or accept his or her abuse just because you blame yourself.
Get help:
If you feel you negative emotions have become an everyday challenge to deal with, you better get in the form of seeing a therapist or a counselor. These are the individuals who will help you get rid of the negativity that has developed because of years of bullying and it will make you restore your focus, reduce stress, and relax your mind and body.
Forgive the abuser:
You may have been carrying resentment and anger of the past till this day which makes your everyday difficult to live. It so happens that you find it difficult to hide such emotions in front of the people. It may sound impossible but the direct route towards healing is forgiveness. The bully will feel more empowered if you don’t forgive until you let go of the resentment and anger against them. Forgiveness robs the abuser of their power and releases you from having a feeling of the uncomfortable bondage.
There are plenty of people who have managed to overcome their experiences of childhood bullying and are living a happy successful life; however, it is an ongoing process. There will always be thoughts and memories of a bad experience that you have suffered as a child and will try to distract you from living a happy life. Therefore, it is crucial for you to release all your negative thoughts by following these steps and put an end to a painful journey to start living a better life.
