My story...
At school I was bullied. All the way through this chapter in my life I really suffered at the hands of girls saying and doing things that really upset me. It was so hard that I have blocked a lot of the pain out. I dreaded going to school every morning. I became a victim, "why me" "poor me" and internalized everything and really beat myself up about it for years and years. It became a pattern and part of my character. The impact on me was being afraid to speak up, low confidence and self esteem. I went into a career caring for people, really getting and empathising with the pain and suffering of stress and emotional upheaval. I really wanted to support them and make a difference in their lives so that they had somewhere to turn to, a safe space to be, which would be there for them if they needed it.
I have grown in confidence, it has come with age but I was still coming up against a lack of belief in myself, I found it was still holding me back. Recently, I decided to find the courage to face what happened in my past and confront it and take responsibility for it.
I called and spoke to the girl I saw as my enemy.
What came out of this was the realisation that she was suffering too, and if only I had had that knowledge and the tools to do something about it at the time, I could have prevented the impact it had in both my life and her life.
We have now both come together to do something about this. We have rebuilt a friendship and would like to share our passion to make a difference to others so they don't have to go through what we did.
Whether you're a parent or a child, how great would it be to know you had the support and tools to deal with bullying?
So we would like your help. We would like to interview and talk confidentially to anyone who would like to work with us on this.
We have a plan.
If you would like to read more about my story and how you can help please click here. Please also forward this e-mail to any friends or family who may have been affected by bullying or may be interested in helping.
Take Care of Yourself,
Alex x
