October Is National Bullying Prevention Month
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. "This is a good time to be aware that, despite its expansion into cyberspace, bullying in the classroom has not gone away. It still happens, and administrators and teachers still ignore it, whenever it's possible. And usually, it only becomes impossible when it's too late. Bullying destroys lives." So says Stacey J. Miller who experienced bullying when she was in middle school. It never goes away for her -- partly, because bullying, and its consequences, are in the news every day.
"Those of us who were bullied at school and have never fully recovered from that trauma may feel as powerless as we did when we were kids, and -- even decades later -- we may still be living with the fear and stress that bullying in the classroom brought us," she says. "Telling ourselves that bullying is no big deal and it happens to nearly everyone doesn't mean the trauma will just evaporate if we do nothing. In fact, if we ignore the pain that we experienced from childhood bullying, the consequences can become even more serious."
National Bullying Prevention Month suggests that we can prevent bullying in the classroom, and someday, maybe we can prevent all children from being targeted by bullies. But, as Susan P. Limber, Dan Olweus Professor of Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life at Clemson University told the "Today Show," there is no instant fix.
Bullying is here, and we have to deal with it. The pain of childhood bullying doesn't simply evaporate because we mature and, eventually, leave school behind us. Bullying stays with us until we find a way to heal.
The good news is that there is a 4-part program to help adults recover get beyond the pain of bullying at school. "I developed the healing strategies myself after living, for decades, with the aftermath of the residual trauma associated with the bullying I experienced. It involves telling your story, planning to be found by people from your past, putting the former bullies into perspective, and connecting with former bullies to gain closure and peace," Miller shares.
Her book is called, "Getting Past Childhood Bullying: How Adults Can Recover From Trauma That Began at School." Please let me know if you'd like to receive evaluation copy. Stacey Miller is also available for interviews. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Book:
Getting Past Childhood Bullying: How Adults Can Recover From Trauma That Began at School
By Stacey J. Miller
BPT Press
978-0984228539
November 2018
