After the heartbreaking death of an Egyptian 16-year-old girl due to bullying, it was time to bring back the bullying conversation. It should have never been put to a halt in the first place. And Twitter further proves this point. When a tweet asking people to quote the most hurtful thing they’ve been told went viral, most replies were heart-wrenching. Hurtful words that someone says could be carved in the back of their mind forever, no matter how close the person is to them, so always choose kindness. Because if you don’t think that words matter, they do, and here’s why.
Academic validation equates their self-worth:
Parents create unrealistic levels of academic achievements and milestones for their offspring. Some parents also compare their children to others, causing them stress. It grows low self-esteem and implants the feeling of never being good enough for their parents, feeling like disappointments or failures.
Gaslighting and victim-blaming:
Toxic relationships and harmful people have a pattern. They’re brutal and cruel in the name of being honest. You can easily be mistreated in a relationship, yet the other person will make it look like you’re the problem. They’ll convince you with what? Using hurtful words.
Painting you out as the villain:
Some people never really grew up. They can’t say sorry, take accountability for their actions or change for the better. These people have ego issues and project their insecurities onto you by painting you as the villain in their stories as an excuse for their behavior.
Building unreal expectations for oneself:
Love is tricky. People can make up ideas of you in their head when they first like you, and once you start acting up differently than they had planned for you to do, they drop you. They lose interest and somehow make it your problem. It causes dissatisfaction.
Making people feel unworthy:
The fact that making friends is hard is something, and saying stuff like that is another. It leads them to believe they’re not worthy of good things in life. Friendships are no tests; it’s much more special than that.
How do you think we can prevent verbal bullying and the spreading of harmful words?
