Bullying: More Than Just Mean Words

Has someone said hurtful things to you and constantly repeat it even when you tell them to

stop?

Has someone constantly made fun of you, but you thought ignoring was a better idea?

Have you been coming home after a bad day with your friends and doubt that you’ve been

too sensitive to their subjective teasing?

Have you tried to talk yourself out of the fact that someone has been treating you badly,

hurting you emotionally or even physically?

Even if the exact same things haven’t happened to you, but are somewhere along these

lines, you are being bullied.

Bullying. The unwanted, aggressive behaviour of school aged children. When someone uses

physical force, hurts reputation or relationships, and says rude and hurtful things repeatedly,

it is called bullying.

Bullying can happen in many different ways.

Physical Bullying: People use physical force to hurt others, and it can involve hitting,

kicking and punching.

Verbal Bullying: When people tease, name-call, taunt, and say inappropriate comments

that have deep emotional impact on you and constantly repeat it, it is called verbal bullying.

Social Bullying: Social bullying occurs when people spread rumours, tell people not to be

friends with someone or embarrass someone in public, and try to ruin someone’s reputation

and harm someone’s friendships.

Roughly, one third of young people in the world get bullied.

But this number doesn’t define the long term effect of bullying. People who are bullied

become depressed and overly anxious. Their eating patterns and sleeping patterns start to

change and they lose interest in things that they enjoy. Their self esteem reduces, and they

question themselves and think that they're not good enough. They become more sick and complain about headaches and stomachaches that they are having and their grades drop.

They avoid going to school and later on struggle with maintaining their relationships.

So, how do you know if you are getting bullied?

Ask yourself these questions!

- Do I feel constant anxiety?

- Is someone constantly repeating aggressive and unwanted behaviour with me?

- Am I feeling sick regularly?

- Am I avoiding going to school?

- Am I starting to lose interest in things I like because other people made fun of it?

- Do I feel like I’m not good enough?

- Am I feeling sad a lot?

- Do I tend to avoid social gatherings or situations?

- Am I doubting that I'm being hurt by someone?

- Have I isolated myself from other people?

If you say yes to most of these questions, talk to an adult immediately. If you are being

bullied, this needs to come to parents and/or your teachers. You shouldn’t be afraid to voice

that something bad is happening to you, it's not snitching.

Most importantly, remember, that if you are being bullied, it has nothing to do with who you

are, but mostly how your bully sees themselves. They could be ashamed of themselves or

have low self- esteem, and take it out on you, but that doesn’t make it okay. Remind

yourself, it’s not your fault or problem, its theirs.

Take action, your wellbeing matters.