Bullying hurts everyone

Bullying damages children. Damaged children carry their wounds into adulthood. Some of them are lucky and can heal themselves. Others look around for ways to distract themselves from their pain and humiliation and wounded self-esteem. When the distractions they choose make a mess of their lives and the lives of their dear ones, they sometimes seek out help from people like me. By which time, it’s a little like cleaning up an oil spill. As a therapist, I know from experience that it’s far, far better to grow healthy human beings from the seeds of a nurtured childhood than do psychological overhauls on adults damaged by bullying, or by being bullies, or who witnessed bullying and couldn’t — or wouldn’t — intervene. It’s truly a form of preventable violence if we set our collective wills to stopping it through education and vigilance — and love, basically.