Anti-bullying

by McKenzie Farissier

As you all know, bullying is a very serious topic and can cause serious problems such as suicidal thoughts, mental problems, depression, etc. Even though I have never been a victim of this kind of behavior, I know some people out there (possibly reading this) have been affected either in their past or are currently being bullied. I’m here to talk about the serious problems this kind of behavior could cause and possibly help victims of bullying cope with this or maybe gain confidence.

To start off, when I say I’m talking about bullying, I’m not talking about just a silly name calling that happened once or someone just joking around. I am talking about physical bullying and very major verbal bullying. Lets get into some ways to cope with bullying. Obviously, some of the ways I might name may not be super easy to do but some of my other suggestions may help! To start, I’m sure you have all heard to “just ignore them, you’re giving them exactly what they want when you cry/react.” I know it is not easy to just ignore someone saying harmful things to you and ignoring them might make the situation worse.

So instead of just ignoring them, you can let them talk to you but maybe try redirecting your thoughts. For example, instead of overthinking what they are saying or responding in a rude way that might make matters worse, think inside of your head some funny jokes or roasts that you want to say but won’t say out loud. So instead of crying or getting upset, you’ll have a smile on your face or be laughing making the bully feel not as big or cool anymore.

Another way to cope with the bullying could be to just try and be nice to them. I know this isn’t super easy considering you don’t want anything to do with your bully, but being nice to them might give them a different perspective of you.

Now, lets move onto ways you can cope with physical bullying. Obviously, this is much harder then trying to cope with verbal bullying because with physical bullying you are being harmed physically AND mentally. Telling an adult or teacher could possibly make the situation of bullying worse or make it better. I do recommend telling a teacher or adult though because letting this continue could make the bully think he/she can get away with physcially harming you and possibly escalate the situation to worse ways to harm you. 

That is all I have for suggestions, I hope this helped you cope with bullying and possibly prevent it.