Victims Of Bullying Explain How It Truly Affected Their Lives

1-

I grew up being bullied by not only my peers but also by family members.

I still have incredibly low self esteem, I have a hard time dating anyone, and I basically refuse to take compliments from people because I'm afraid they'll just tell me they're joking anyway.

It's been rough. I'm 25 and still trying to deal with crap from my teenage years.

EDIT: Wow. Thank for for all of the awards and support. You are all so kind and I truly appreciate it.

For those asking, yes, I have seen a therapist in the past, but I was young and stupid and gave up on it pretty quickly. I intend on actually going to see someone once Covid has calmed down because I have a hard time connecting with someone over the phone.

And to all of those in similar situations, I truly hope you are able to find peace and live great lives. Don't let your past drag you down, you can accomplish so much.

mythiicalex

2-

My worst bully was my dad who'd call me a lazy fatty, accused me of being gay, said I was a disrespectful piece of crap. He is, literally, one of the cruelest people I've ever met and he thinks he's a freaking saint. However, in the past two years he's had four strokes and is probably going to be dead in the next few months so the jokes on him... I'm not even going to be sad when he dies, other than feeling bad for my mom and siblings...

Wiesbaden121486

3-

I'm 51 and am still unpacking crap from my teens. Hell over the pandemic I realized the worst of the bullying came from my own family. And yeah. It has taken me DECADES to recover any self-esteem. But hey "they wouldn't have teased me if they didn't like me" right?

LowkeyPony

4-

Someone got paid to date me once. Ever since then I was always skeptical that someone actually found me attractive. The person who paid the individual did it because I recently went through a horrible break up and he hated seeing me depressed. I've forgiven him since then because his heart was in the right place but whenever I've been approached by women I think they have an ulterior motive. I've been slowly growing out of this so there is hope.

Zemlenz

5-

I have trouble trusting people. If someone is nice to me I assume that they have an ulterior motive or think about ways that they could harm me. I get along with my co-workers but I don't let many people get close enough to know me.

ProofJournalist

6-

My peers weren't bullies but they made it clear they didn't care about me/I had no friends. My brother was the one that would bully me during our childhood so I grew up not having any friends and having no one to trust in my family. With that said I still think I had a good childhood seeing as I was never physically abused or anything but I still have very little trust for others.

MidnightSloppies

7-

I have a problem where I tend to read negative things into the way people talk to me and interact with me. Like I have a tendency to assume people are passive aggressively insulting me when in all actuality they probably like me just fine and don't mean anything by it.

I've gotten a lot better at not taking things personally but every now and then it still pops up in my brain.

badgersprite

8-

I was the kid who got bullied by all the popular kids and ostracized. I had a crush on a boy and they found out, so they pranked me saying he wanted to ask me out but was too shy. So I asked him out in the hall only for him to brutally reject me in front of everyone and they all laughed. I was also beaten up by a girl who dragged me by my pony tail and told me I wasn't cool enough to hang out with the popular kids.

I still have a lot of self doubt and anxiety at 34. I feel a lot of the time like people don't really want me around and just tolerate me and then talk about me behind my back. This wasn't helped at all during my marriage. My ex was emotionally abusive and often told me I didn't want to leave him because nobody else would treat me as good as he did. This kept my self esteem low and I became pretty reclusive. I'm now very much the kind of person who doesn't reach out to anyone and I just wait for them to come to me. It's safer that way, if they're the ones reaching out then it must mean they do want to be around.

It's something I'm working on, though. I realize it's unhealthy to never reach out so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone to nurture relationships and grow. My boyfriend is amazing and supportive of this and encourages me to reach out. So far it has mostly been with my family, I have a ton of cousins I used to be close to and I'm working on rebuilding those relationships. The pandemic makes it hard, but I find I feel better after even just a phone call. I'm trying to reclaim my life and not let the bullying and abuse of my past close me off to the world.

sai_gunslinger

9-

I was made fun of by everyone including the teachers just because I was "That Shy Kid Who Likes To Draw And Is Bad At SportsTM" through grades 1-7.

People were always throwing trash at me and once I even had a trash bin put on my head when I was just minding my business on a break. A lot of insults regarding my looks too.

I grew up to be a socially anxious, introverted, apathetic and asocial adult who doesn't trust people, keeps my distance from them and has a lot of self esteem issues on top of borderline personality disorder. I don't seek friends or keep old friends because deep down I think that I'm just an annoyance to them and I see them interacting with me as a form of pity. No matter how much people assure me they are okay with me I just don't believe them.

Same goes for any compliments directed at my looks.

I'm 23 now and I will never forgive those people and I will wish them the worst because even if they come to me after 10 years and apologize, their crappy apology won't fix the mental trauma I suffered because of them.

ThatOneWhoSparkles

10-

I was bullied as a teenager. I had crooked teeth, bushy eyebrows and dark circles around my eyes, I was also anemic so I was so pale. They called me zombie, witch girl and other hurtful things.

I got braces in college and worked out and a lot of guys started complimenting me, which I always thought was another prank, it took me years to love and accept myself and to not let myself seek attention from other men.

I was so desperate for love and attention that I allowed myself to be abused by an ex, and to be the side chick of another.

I'm doing okay now, though.

sunnynightmares