In a #bullying situation at work small things often lead to bigger things and before you know it you’re out of your depth. The person bullying you may shift between unkind and kind behaviour, making you doubt what’s going on. They’ll attempt to discredit you with other people.
1/
Getting out of a situation like this is incredibly tricky. As the #bullying increases the way you respond may make you seem less credible. Others who see only the benign behaviour of the bully may struggle to believe what’s going on.
#autism
#AllAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
2/
The impact of bullying on physical and mental health is profound. It can totally incapacitate you. It’s no consolation to be told that you were subjected to this behaviour because you were capable, and seen as a threat, or envied in some way. Bullying is brutally destructive.
3/
Perhaps what’s most distressing is when we leave (and leave we must, to save our sanity and sometimes our lives) the bullies get what they want. Our removal. That’s why organisations need to take #bullying very seriously and decide what kind of #culture they want to create.
4/
I’d love to say a lot more about specifics, but like many people who’ve been bullied I can’t. What advice would I give my younger self? Don’t overestimate your ability to deal with bullying at work, or underestimate how far the toxicity extends when seeking advice and support.
5/
Being bullied leaves lasting psychological scars. It’s horribly traumatic. It may take us several years to fully understand and come to terms with what happened. Bullying saps our confidence, it diminishes us. Recovery is a lonely journey, often undertaken with little support
6/
And yet, in spite of this, we often do recover. We may be even more determined to fill our lives with kindness and turn our back on hate. We may also struggle with negative emotions fuelled by a sense of injustice if the day of reckoning, when wrongs are righted, never comes.
7/
Bullying is on my mind because I’ve just started therapy for #CPTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder). It’s also #BullyingAwarenessWeek. Like many #autistic people I’ve been bullied and witnessed it happening to other people. It’s always profoundly shocking.
#autism
8/
Sometimes abuse is very obvious and clear. What makes bullying more difficult to deal with is not knowing whether someone’s actions are conscious or unconscious, deliberate or accidental. We may recognise that the bully is a victim too, we may even feel some sympathy for them.
9/
You need to protect yourself while you work out what’s going on. Talk to someone you trust. Record what’s happening. Get advice. Years ago I came across Tim Field’s workplace #bullying website. https://bullyonline.org/old/workbully/index.htm
There’s an updated version too now https://bullyonline.org/index.php 
10/
The #recruitment process is an opportunity to check out what it’s like to work somewhere. What do they say about themselves, what do others say?
I don’t regret leaving jobs where #bullying reflected organisational culture, top down. With hindsight I should have left sooner.
11/
If you are experiencing #workplace #bullying at the moment, and things have got to the stage where you need legal advice, do check your household insurance policy, if you have one. This may include cover for legal expenses relating to #employment law.
#BullyingAwarenessWeek
12/
The law isn’t perfect but the legal process can be empowering. It deals with evidence and facts, providing an objective assessment of whether what occurred was lawful. It can hold organisations and individuals to account if someone has been subjected to unlawful harassment.
13/
Apart from financial compensation, acknowledgment that unlawful harm has been caused can be part of the healing process. The seriousness of the situation is reflected in the formality of legal proceedings. Incredibly tough to go through, but potentially cathartic.
#bullying
14/
I want to end this thread by paying a special tribute to #TimField whose website and work on #bullying helped to save so many lives. Tragically, Tim died from cancer aged only 53, but his legacy lives on https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jan/21/guardianobituaries.mainsection
#BullyingAwarenessWeek
#bullyingawareness
15/ end
Obituary: Tim Field

Obituary: Tim Field, who has died aged 53 from cancer, was a world authority on bullying and psychiatric injury, and author of the best-selling Bully in Sight (1997).

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jan/21/guardianobituaries.mainsection
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