18/10/2021
🌞Mental Health Awareness Month🌞
An important question to ask ourselves: “How do I take care of my mental health?
For me, Pilates is an important tool in taking care of my mental health. But today, I want to talk specifically about bullying.
In our lifetime, we may have experienced being bullied by others. Many have. How does one cope with bullying, without sustaining mental injury?
Recently I chatted with a friend about bullying, as one of our common friends is still affected negatively by bullying in her childhood, today taking things personally very easily. I feel sadness about that, and would like to share how I dealt with bullying effectively when I was young.
Back in High School, I was very tan. A few boys in my class always made it a habit to laugh at me, calling me “黑面蔡“— “黑面” means black face, while “蔡” means Tsai”.
When I talked to someone, I found it very difficult to get into their circle; as a result, I had very few friends in my class, but thankfully I had two or three very close and kind ones. Furthermore, these boys laughed at me when I asked questions in class. One of the boys even spoke loudly to other classmates behind me: “She would NEVER be able to get into the best girls’ senior high school, I promise…otherwise I will cut my head down… “
Although as I look back I always laugh at this story, it was totally not fun at the time. I didn’t feel comfortable at all, and no one really stood up for me to stop these bullying behaviors 😔. I didn’t know myself how to speak up against this.
I remember, also, there was another girl with heavier weight and poor academic performance who regularly got bullied as well.
However, I managed to ignore all of them, instead focusing on my goals and strengths— I made friends in other classes by discussing or teaching mathematics after school time.
Ultimately, in National Entrance Exams, I scored high enough to be able to enter into the best school in the country and enroll in the best school in my city.
Along the way I really learnt a lot of things from my own experience. I am happy I didn’t let their words take control of my life. Instead, I trusted myself and focused on my own goals. My life would be totally different today if I had been another girl than myself, unable to find a coping strategy that would pull me through the storm.
How do you cope with bullying in schools or work environment? I encourage you to also turn your pain into power. If you don’t know how to do so, come to do a Pilates class with me or book my time. ☕️