Lisa's Story

I have been searching for ways to share my story and help others who are suffering, and I’m so happy to have found this website.

I suffer from anxiety related habits; rubbing my eyebrows and OCD, and I’m pretty sure it stems from my childhood and school years.

I started to get bullied at school at about 10 years old. I was called thick and stupid, along with other harmful names. It then continued in secondary school for another 2 and a half years. Along with this, I was receiving negative comments from the male members of my family, making me feel like an insignificant girl who was there just to be laughed at. When the bullying at school finally stopped, I was left with zero confidence and shyness.

I went through my late teens and 20’s trying to re-gain my confidence and hiding from my bullying days, as I just wanted to escape it and for people to like me, I started taking substances in my early 20’s to make myself more confident and for all the negative feelings to disappear.

I hated the fact I was shy. When people would make comments such as “you don’t talk very much do you”, it felt like a knife through the heart.

I didn’t talk to anyone about the bullying or how I was feeling because I was ashamed and I felt like I didn’t have the right.

I am now 40 years old and back when I was younger, mental health wasn’t really discussed, you were told to just ignore the bullies and get on with it.

A lot of my shyness has now disappeared, but it took many years of dealing with one negative thought at a time. I have achieved many good things now, through wanting to prove I was never stupid, which now I realise that I never was.

I am much more confident and happy with myself, but I’m still left with scars and feelings of resentment which one day I hope to discuss with the parties involved.

It wasn’t until last year when I was going through an emotional break up, I finally decided to address my feelings by talking to a counsellor. Now I want to discuss more and more and keep the conversation alive, and I really want to help others who have gone through or going through similar situations.

Thank you for listening, Lisa x