Intrapersonal Bullying - Doesn't it really all start & end within ourselves?

     If we carefully examine the various elements of bullying: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/04/intimidation-bullying-within-dental.html and do some deep self-reflection, we may find that the most frequent sources of stress are NOT external eg fellow students, clinical teachers, professional colleagues or administrators. Psychological mistreatment - the most frequently reported form of mistreatment - is ultimately SELF-INFLICTED. This means accepting & identifying with (ie cognitive fusion) names, ideas, concepts etc that are not truly who or what we are.

     This does NOT mean that bullying of one person by others should be tolerated - it should not. But this DOES mean that it's in each individual's best interest to become as resilient / hardy as possible, to minimize or eliminate altogether negative effects of bullying and other potentially injurious external forces.
     Intellectually we all realize that nobody, no external situation can MAKE us do anything. Regardless of external circumstances, what we do, and how we feel, is up to us (internal locus of control). Striking exemplars include Gandhi and Mandela.
 

     "Resilience refers to the ability to thrive despite adversity and has been defined as a multidimensional phenomenon, spanning internal locus of control, sense of meaning, social problem-solving skills, and self-esteem. The concept of hardiness integrates many of these characteristics and describes individuals who are committed to finding meaningful purpose in life, believe that one can influence one’s surroundings and the outcome of events, and trust that one can learn and grow from both positive and negative life experiences. High levels of this personality trait have been shown to enhance posttraumatic adjustment, possibly by means of a faster physiological recovery from stress."

       Daniels JK et al. Neural correlates and predictive power of trait resilience in an acutely traumatized sample: a pilot investigation. J Clin Psychiatry 2012; 73(3): 327-32.

Sushmita   www.dpreview.com