Bullying can affect us at any time in our lives, either through our own experiences or those of a loved one. Bullying can cause significant trauma and distress to victims, and the psychological effects of bullying can last for a very long time. Be it direct or cyber bullying at school, college, university, in the workplace, from our relatives, neighbours or so-called friends, this is clearly an issue which continues to affect many of us.

Our guide to dealing with being bullied:

Tell someone: Don’t suffer alone. Wherever you are being bullied it is important to tell someone so that something can be done. Telling a parent, a teacher, a colleague or someone else trusted and close to you can help you to deal with the bullying.

Keep records: Keep a diary or journal of everything that is happening to you. Keeping records of the bullying will allow more information to be passed on about what is happening to you. If it is happening on-line, keep a copy of all emails, texts, etc and take screenshots of social media posts that could be removed.

Don’t respond: If you are being cyber-bullied, don’t reply to any nasty messages. You might feel the need to defend yourself or be aggressive back, but all this will do is make the bully happy that you are being affected by their behaviour. If you are being bullied face-to-face, it is usually best to walk away rather than get into an argument.

Look out for each other: If you suspect someone is being bullied, offer your support. It could help the person enormously to know that they are not alone and have someone to turn to.

Remember, being bullied does not mean you are a bad person: Bullies will aim to make their victims feel bad about themselves, and even think it is their own fault that they are being bullied. Remember, it is the bully who is in the wrong, never the victim. And I mean NEVER!

If you need additional support to deal with your experience of bullying (past or present), counselling could be of great benefit to you, by helping you to come to terms with your ordeal and move forward. The Green Rooms offer a free consultation for you to chat about what you need and how best to get that.

Written by Jennifer McElroy