Insights and Inspirations: Being Bullied

Insights and Inspirations: Have You Ever Been Bullied, What Did You Do about It, and How Did It Change Your Life?

We asked some of our experts, our WU World Changers, if they\’ve ever been bullied and how it changed their lives, and we received some really inspiring answers! Read what they had to say below.

Be sure to connect with each WU World Changer directly!

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Bullying takes on many forms.

From our siblings to the neighborhood kids, into adulthood and even in the workplace. Please share your story of being bullied and how you overcame it. Did you stand up to your bully? Did you leave a job because of it? Did you confront them? Did you duke it out? What happened, and how has it changed your life?

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“When I was four-years-old I contracted the polio virus. It caused my left calf muscle to atrophy and the Achilles tendon in my ankle to shorten. I walked on the ball of my foot with my toes turned inward, and a significant limp. Hard to believe in this day and age! However, in those days children received the antidote at the age of five years old. Today children are protected from the polio virus at the age of 18 months. I had five operations to correct the deformation in my leg. I still walk with a limp.

At sixteen-years-old, I started nursing school. Four teachers came to me a month after I started and told me they felt I should not be in their program. Intuitively, I knew it was because I had polio. Here is what I said to them. ‘My leg has never stopped me from doing what I choose to do. The fact that four of you need to tell me this proves to me that you know you are wrong. I am going to be a nurse and nothing and no one is going to stop me.’ I graduated at nineteen-years-old, and I am still working full time in an Intensive Care Unit. Never give up on your dreams!”

– Kathleen Boucher

Registered nurse, award-winning children’s author, Certified Lifestyle Coach, Certified Stress and Wellness Consultant

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“As a healthcare provider, I have seen my share of bullying. I have noticed as my self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-love has grown over the years and continues to evolve, those \’projections\’ from others really have nothing to do with me. In fact, they are projections about how the other person really feels about themselves… bottom line.

The goal of the bully is to release what he is feeling onto someone else, in hopes that the other person will heal this for him or her. Remember this is an unconscious motive. So, when a bully lashes out at someone, he picks an energetically vulnerable person, to project what he or she is feeling on to them. The person at the receiving end, if they are not aware, and unconsciously, takes this on as their own, which is not true, and tries to heal it for them.

I have found when I experience this where others are doing this to me. I let them finish their rant. I reply, \’Wow! You must really not like yourself very much since you just shared with me what you feel about yourself.\’ I have found that this stops the bully in their tracks and stops the flow of the projection any further.”

– Dr. Dolores Fazzino

LifeStyle and Wellness Coach, Speaker, and Author

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“I had been bullied for most of my life. ‘Bully Me’ was tattooed on my forehead, I was sure of it.

What did I do when it was at its worst?  Had a mental break down. Took two weeks off work and questioned every thought I had about the bullies. What I came to realise was how I was being a bully.

I then set my boundaries. As soon as I found myself feeling emotional around a ‘bully,’ I would leave the space and calm myself. This was being kinder to me than staying.”

– Karen Cherrett

Holistic Counsellor and a Very Experienced Facilitator of the Work of Byron Katie.

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“Like many of us, I have been bullied from the start, everything from emotional trauma to physical trauma. Being an already very sensitive child, I internalized a lot of pain and insecurity which created chronic pain and depression.

Growing up my parents taught me how to stand up for myself and what I believed in. Not through angry or hurtful words but through drawing a line in the sand that I wasn’t okay with what they were doing. As I got older I realized how much truth was in the phrase ‘hurting people hurt people,’ and now I look at bullies with compassion even when I don’t understand or agree with their actions.

For those out there that have been bullied or are currently being bullied my take away message is simply this: Don’t let what they say or do define who you are. You are uniquely and wonderfully made and have something very special to offer this world. People don’t determine your value, you decide your value and you decide your worth. It’s within you to be absolutely unstoppable. Shake off the lies, the hurts and stay strong because your testimony helps other people shake off their bullies and step into what they were meant to do.”

– Rachael Taylor

Illustrator, Writer, and Pilates Instructor

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“Operating from the inner-standing that every experience in life is a reflection that has come to heal us by illuminating what we are energetically vibrating out to the world, we are able to dissolve the energy of bullying with ease. When I think of all the experiences I’ve had that I considered bullying I think about all of the self-hatred and self-judgment I had for myself at that time. All of the bullies in my life came to show me what was inside of me that needed to be healed. I in no way advocate for or agree with anyone ever bullying another person or themselves.

However, when I realized the biggest bully in my life was in my own head I knew I had to shift the way I felt about me, and all the negative self-talk and judgment had to change. I incorporated this affirmation in my life and spoke it every day for 2 years in the mirror. ‘I am becoming more of myself every day and I give myself permission to love myself deeper.’ What I realized is that I was bullying myself because I was looking at myself through the eyes of others and not through my own eyes. I wasn’t being my authentic self, I was being who I thought others would accept and love. I believed that I was not enough.

When I begin the process of looking at myself every day in the mirror and loving myself and calling the best of me forward. All of the bullies in my life started to diminish including the biggest bully which was the one inside of my head. I began to feel better about myself and attract different people in my life that were supportive and encouraged me in my quest to love myself deeper. I released and let go of the bully inside me and the bullies outside of me dissipated.

Remember, change can happen overnight, it is the resistance to change that takes time. So, release the resistance to loving yourself deeper and allow your own self-love to illuminate your light and the shadows (bullies) will disappear.”

– Malane Shani

Master Life/Relationship Coach, Spiritual Educator, Author, and Inspirational Speaker

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Thank you for joining us for this week’s Insights and Inspirations where our experts answered if they\’ve ever been bullied and how it changed their lives. Please join us next Monday for another installment of Insights and Inspirations, where our WU World Changers recount a personal devastation that ultimately led to a blessing!

The Wellness Universe is filled with amazing people changing the world. Become part of our community as our WU Friend today!

Have A Wellness-Filled Day!

– The Wellness Universe Team

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