A Bully Story: What To Do Against Harassment

A Bully Story: What To Do Against Harassment

by D.O.C., OTD/C

If there is one unfortunate constant of life, it's bullying. For kids, play (at any capacity) is their #1 occupation. But when bullying come into play, it disrupts the natural progression on a child. Bullying is like a weed in a garden. It has the ability to alter a child's personality across the lifespan into adulthood. At it's most extreme consequence, a repercussion of bullying is a mass shooting inside a high school.

For me, I received my own shock from bullying during my childhood when we moved from a quiet town in Illinois to a heavily populated Little Haiti community in Miami, and lived as a real life Karate Kid. At that time, I was forced to fight daily against "Zoe Pound" gang members in Middle School. Zoe Pound grew to be one of the most notorious gangs in the U.S. with prominent members such as the rapper Kodak Black. Having to face bullying from this gang changed who I was to the point to where I actually enjoyed fighting for sport (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling). Later, I used those skills to teach kids the importance of deescalating and using self defense as a last resort. But what about the children who are afraid of standing up for themselves? How will that affect them, their mental health and likelihood of suicide ideation?

What counts as bullying?

Bullying can take different forms. It can be name calling or physical threatening, or could involve things that make your life difficult such as hiding or taking things from you or making you feel self conscious. If you are being bullied for whatever reason, it’s important not to accept this as normal. You should not to have be fearful of others or be self-conscious because of how others make you feel. 

Why does bullying happen?

There are multitudes of reasons why people may resort to bullying. Some common reasons include:

• Feeling threatened or jealous
• To feel empowered
• To gain attention from friends
• Gaining validation from friends
• Lacking social skills
• Taking out aggression from being bullied themselves
• To divert other bullies’ attention to someone else

Why am I being bullied?

Bullies will often look to pick on those they see as an easy target. Bullies will often look to find something that makes someone stand out to use as a reason for bullying and diabetes can set us apart.

Bullying at school – what can I do?

If you are being bullied, tell someone you can trust that bullying is happening. Schools treat bullying very seriously so telling your teacher, either directly or through your parents, will help to get the bullying stopped. If you find it difficult to tell someone, you may want to write it down instead. Don’t be tempted to put it off, the sooner it’s known about, the sooner the bullying can be stopped.

Bullying at home – what can I do?

Depending on who is the bully, you may need to tell your parents or another family member such as an aunt, uncle or grandparent. 

Cyber bullying – what can I do?

Cyber bullying is any form of bullying that takes place over mobile phones or the internet. Cyber bullying can take different forms, from looking to cause embarrassment through to physical threats and slander. If you receive bullying on the internet or mobile phone, keep a copy of the message (wherever possible) so you can report it. Depending on your position and what the messages said, this may need to be reported to your school, college, workplace or even the police.

- D.O.C.

www.onyxfitnesstherapy.com