Unfortunately, being bullied is a relatively common experience. ‘Bullying’ means repeated actions with the intention of causing distress.
In a recent survey of over 19,000 young people in Ireland, 39% reported they had been bullied at some point. However, despite being something many of us go through, people often try to hide that they’re being bullied. This can make it even more isolating and distressing. Bullying is never acceptable.
In this article you will find:
- How bullying can affect you
- Getting support for dealing with it
- Why do people bully
- What you can do if you’re being bullied
What bullying is
Bullying can be obvious, like physical violence, verbal abuse, or humiliation. But there are also less visible versions of it, such as emotional bullying or exclusion.
Bullying could be any combination of these:
- Verbal put downs
- Embarrassing you
- Exclusion
- Damaging or stealing belongings
- Racial abuse.
Bullying can be a very isolating experience and has a negative impact on our self-esteem.