A scroll through news on Twitter and Facebook has brought up a flood of posts with intense feelings, particularly of incredulity and extreme anger.
We are fortunate enough to live in a democracy where freedom of speech is within our rights – but is it really okay to bully, shame and name-call people who voted a different way?
I’ve been horrified by what I’ve seen this week. Not by the shock result – but by the downright nastiness and cruelty from people towards their fellow human beings. And largely, this is from people whose “moral” stance suggests they should know better.
Now while politics has no place in a hypnotherapy clinic, the type of horrible behaviour I’ve witnessed this week is one of the Number One causes of the problems I do see every day in my treatment room.
I help people overcome the long-term effects of cruel words, jibes and insults – let alone all-out bullying and abuse – repeatedly, every single day.
Now to the untrained eye, the obvious issues that stem from these behaviours are shattered self-esteem and chronic low self-confidence. And I see people for just these issues alone daily.
After all, how do we imagine someone would feel after being called “stupid” and “ignorant” and much much worse?
Some people may be able to bat these remarks off, but to others, they burrow inside, lay eggs and thrive… And then they turn into anxiety problems, social anxiety, panic attacks, fears, phobias, paranoia, depression…
In short, they turn into big life-ruining problems.
But that’s just for starters. It frequently manifests in weight problems, relationship issues, habits, addictions, performance in all things.
You see our levels of confidence in ourselves are at the heart of everything we do. If we believe we can do something, we can do it. If we doubt ourselves because we’ve come to believe the nonsense about being stupid and believe we can’t, then we can’t.
Insults, jibes, bullying, abuse can have an insidious effect on a person’s psyche, which can destroy a person mentally in so many ways.
From the anxious teenager who was too scared to go to school from online abuse, to the unfulfilled ambitions of the full-time mum was once told she would never amount to anything, to the pensioner too anxious to hold a conversation with acquaintances because of a single taunt 50 years before. I have helped them all in just the last week – and that’s without going into the case of the mum having panic attacks from watching the news.
If these people who are all so busy calling others stupid, Â ignorant and even OLD, over a vote they had a democratic right to cast, thought for one moment about the impact these remarks – both generically and personally – caused, would they still make them?
We can only hope not. So please, let’s start being nicer to each other. My mum always told me: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”
She also says: “Empty vessels make the most noise”. Â :p
If you want help to overcome any of the issues raised above, then I’d be very happy to see you for that free initial assessment session. Simply contact me by email, text, phone or my contact form, or just book yourself in online in a slot that suits you. We’ll have a good chat and get you on the road to feeling better.
Best wishes,
Alex
