It starts at an early age.

Bullying can happen to anyone, anywhere. The rude push followed by a flurry of mean words, or the benchmate in our school who pokes fun at the timid-looking student. Dealing with bullies is a vital topic of discussion and is pertinent to all schools and colleges where there may be little knowledge of bullying prevention. Bullying is very much prevalent in homes as well as trolling online by cyber bullies on social media channels.

Dealing with bullies is a serious threat and worry to the current generation of India. The children of today in India are growing up insecure (their career, appearances, studies, orientation, relationships) about themselves, and display low self-esteem. Very few stand up to bullying and those who don’t, grow up displaying distinctive patterns in their behavior as adults.

What is Bullying?

Bullying is often misinterpreted as ‘teasing’. Bullying is actually a regular part of childhood and people who bully tend to carry it ahead in their adult life (if not corrected). Habits of belittling others, pushing others around, being mean and humiliating others, invalid criticism, constantly badgering a person - are all forms of bullying. Some of these are prevalent in the office atmosphere as well. We also have cyberbullying, name-calling, and people who attempt to harm a person physically - incidents that are most often inflicted by the victim’s own friends, relatives, or rivals.

People who bully often do so because they feel negative about their own selves. How would they overcome this? By indulging in acts that are an attempt to hide their own shortcomings.

Why is Bullying Prevention Important?

People who have been mistreated for a great number of years commonly struggle and develop trust issues and in extreme cases, psychiatric problems as well. This repeated verbal or physical behavior with the use of insults towards a child or an adult is offensive as it causes humiliation to the victim involved. This humiliation if untreated, can have devastating results on the life of the victim and people associated with him/her.

 

 

Children (irrespective of gender) who bully and display violence and cruel behavior, manipulative minds, and lack of empathy also need guidance in life. Bullies themselves are in need of help, something that often remains unnoticed by parents or guardians.

A victim of bullying is most likely to exhibit some or all of the following -

• Preference to isolate themselves socially
• Feelings of shamefulness
• Suffers from sleeplessness
• Lack of quality relationships
• Has low self-esteem
• Develops anxiety
• Displays poor performance in school/work
• Unable to perform at a professional level
• Increased risk of depression
• Suicidal thoughts

What can be the issue here? Well, we are often conditioned to believe:

• Bullying is a normal part of the growing up years
• Children would witness the ‘real world’ early on
• Sensitive children would learn to toughen up

These issues often remained with a person for years - sometimes forever. People in every age group often suffer from low self-esteem as their memories of being bullied remains ingrained internally. If parents, relatives and the immediate social circle make a collective effort to curb the bullies and show a firm stance, many children will be saved from growing up with little or no confidence. A parent who does not stop a bully who is chiding a child for being fat is creating a situation where a child experiences this shame and continues to believe what is being told to him/her.

 

How to Deal with Bullies

One needs a great focus on thoughts and actions to stand up to bullying.

1) Make them powerless: Bullies do the things they do because of the power they wield over others. But, bullies will easily lose their power if the victim does not bend or display reactions. This, however, is a difficult task for young children.

2) Defining your space: Bullies will naturally back down if the victim manages to maintain a polite demeanor. Victims need to rehearse mentally about their reactions and set boundaries. A bully needs to know his/her manner of conversations or gesture is inappropriate and this needs to be mentioned as clearly as possible.

3) Inform a trusted source: It’s easy to ignore a bully hoping they will change. Instead of waiting, it is advisable to confide in a trusted source who will help to act quickly to stand up to bullying.

Where does this leave the youth of India? Would they grow up to be confused, irresponsible, anxious and depressed citizens? What should be the next step?

What is needed is an immediate and appropriate support system that can help victims erase the long-term negative scars of bullying.

At Tava-Mitram, we emphasize the power of group coaching to guide people to find their stifled voice and say no to bullying.

How to overcome bullying with Tava-Mitram

Led by Dr. Paras and Ekktaa Daithankar, Tava-Mitram is built to create a platform of togetherness. Tava-Mitram is a non-judgemental self-help coaching group poised to change this system. The group plans to bring a full stop to bullying by the year 2021.

 

 

Why Group Coaching?

Group coaching creates a safe space for people to open up and express their innermost fears while being coached on ways to overcome the problem-areas. Using a 6-step process, Tava-Mitram ensures all participants are coached to realize their true potential and step out to begin a new journey in life - one where bullies will no longer have a hold over them and the long-term consequences will be finally over. Participants feel empowered as they can spread out their wings to take a new flight. It’s about changing one’s responses and reactions to things that happen around without letting it control the thoughts, decisions, and life goals. What’s more? Tava-Mitram offers group coaching for free to the less-fortunate members of our society. Sessions are held for an hour (twice a month, for 6 months) and participants are trained to change their thinking patterns

Tava-Mitram is created with an objective to help people live their lives in a meaningful way. The group has the vision to transform every person irrespective of their backgrounds and past traumas. This is a niche platform that aims to empower the less-fortunate by using coaching as a medium to communicate and heal the victims.

The stop bullying campaign of Tava-Mitram aims to bring awareness to this overlooked issue and build emotionally-strong citizens. With the power of group coaching, Tava-Mitram also plans to expand and work with every individual across the globe with a vision to end the menace of bullying at every level.

Are you with us to say no to bullying? Or, do you wish to volunteer for the group coaching sessions? Click here to apply as a participant or a volunteer. We cannot work without your support. Click here to donate now.