Unfortunately, Reddit user u/Salty_Ambassador8169 had to endure a group of bullies who would routinely target her at school when she was growing up.
They went above and beyond to make her life miserable, and now even after a few years have passed since their graduation, the woman still hasn't made peace with it and is getting professional psychological help to leave those ugly experiences behind.
However, when she noticed what careers her tormentors had chosen, she decided that it was time to tell not only her therapist but the whole world about what they had been doing to her and released a public Facebook post.
Speaking to the subreddit r/TrueOffMyChest, she tried to make sense of the whole situation and her story is a vivid example of why there should be zero tolerance for bullying.
This woman grew up being viciously bullied at school
Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages (not the actual photo)
And when she saw what career paths her tormentors had taken, she decided to tell everyone about the nasty stuff they did to her
Her story got noticed
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Image source: Salty_Ambassador8169
Unfortunately, cases like this one aren't uncommon. Roughly one out of every five (20.2%) students say they're being bullied.
A higher percentage of male than female students report being picked on physically (6% vs. 4%), whereas a higher percentage of female than male students report becoming the subject of rumors (18% vs. 9%) and being excluded from activities on purpose (7% vs. 4%).
And sadly, 41% of students who report being bullied at school think the bullying will happen again.
Kids are targeted everywhere. Bullied students report that it occurs in the following places: the hallway or stairwell at school (43%), inside the classroom (42%), in the cafeteria (27%), outside on school grounds (22%), online or by text (15%), in the bathroom or locker room (12%), and on the school bus (8%).
Still, just 46% of bullied students report notifying an adult at school about the incident.
The original poster (OP) gave more details on the situation
Bullying behavior is a serious problem among children and adolescents; it has short- and long-term effects not only on the victims but also the perpetrators, and even bystanders.
Kids who are bullied can go through physical, social, emotional, academic, and mental health issues, and are more likely to experience:
- Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy (these problems, as we saw from the Reddit post, may persist into adulthood as well);
- Health complaints;
- Decreased academic achievement—GPA and standardized test scores—and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.
Image credits: Zhivko Minkov (not the actual photo)
Also, a very small number of bullied children might retaliate through extremely violent measures. In 12 of 15 school shooting cases in the 1990s, for example, the shooters had a history of being bullied. Kids who do the bullying, on the other hand, are more likely to:
- Abuse alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults;
- Get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school;
- Engage in early sexual activity;
- Have criminal convictions and traffic citations as adults;
- Be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses, or children as adults.
Kids who witness bullying are more likely to:
- Have increased use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs;
- Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety;
- Miss or skip school.
So we certainly do need to be having a continuous discussion about what these kids are going through.
And people have been really supportive of her, saying that she must've helped many who are going through similar experiences
Some, however, think that the woman should let go of the past in order to move on with her life
