People Are Sharing The Reasons They Were Bullied, And It's Heartbreaking

Bullying is an experience that, unfortunately, a lot of people share.

Reddit user u/Ok-Session9685 recently asked, "Why were you bullied?" It was so sad to read, but it's an important reminder of how much words can hurt and how it's always better to be kind than mean. Here's what people said.

1. "Everyone knew I had autism before I did."

—u/Allergicwolf

2. "I was shy, LOL."

—u/ideedeem

3. "I was quiet and kind toward everyone. Guess some people saw that as a weakness."

—u/Aliasiaa

4. "Having big boobs in middle school."

—u/Pleasant_Lemon6687

5. "In elementary school, for wearing the same outfit each day of the week. Every Monday, I wore a specific outfit. Every Tuesday, I wore a specific outfit (but different from Monday), etc. They bullied me, saying my family was too poor for me to have more than five outfits (we weren't), or I was too stupid to change my clothes (I wasn't). I distinctly remember standing in my closet the first day after they started teasing me, trying to choose something else to wear, and I absolutely COULD NOT DO IT. I got teased for the rest of the year. Five months ago, I was diagnosed with autism. Mystery solved 51 years later!"

—u/FreedomFinallyFound

6. "I was weird as hell."

—u/Lopsided-Club6628

"Same with me. I was that kid that literally was not mentally there. I was that kid from kindergarten who would not socialize at all, staring at the floor and the walls, and looked sad and gloomy a lot. I was always drowning out the world and wasn't really mentally there."

—u/Separate_Article_756

7. "I was overweight in elementary school. It gives me peace knowing that the kids who bullied me are now more overweight than I am."

—u/among_shadows

8. "I was bullied because I skipped a grade, so I was one of the smaller kids in the class. The bully in gym class thought it was funny he could pick me up and body-slam me, and during the swimming part of gym thought it was funny he could hold me underwater until I nearly passed out. At our 25th class reunion, I remember he greeted me like we were always the best of friends."

—u/kabekew

9. "For acne."

—u/Throwawayaccount-CC

10. "For being fat, for being smart, for being the new kid, and for liking to play with girls."

—u/ElSolRacNauj

11. "Lack of money growing up."

—u/saltyeleven

12. "Ugliness. Girls would look at me and say 'ewww' all the time."

—u/Glittering_Offer_69

13. "My height. I’m still short, but it doesn’t bother me anymore."

—u/Sven_88

14. "I was awkward. I was the oldest in a family of five girls. My dad split when I was 7. We were poor, and my mom was an alcoholic, so we didn’t have a lot of clothes. I was sometimes bullied for wearing the same clothes. I guess my sisters and I looked too shabby and dirty. I don’t know. Being bullied as a kid really messed with my self-confidence."

—u/heyjudemarie

15. "I was bullied for a lot of things, most of it related to my appearance, such as having hairy arms (I'm a brunette with light skin, I'm not THAT hairy, kids are just mean), having crooked teeth, thick eyebrows (which are now popular to have LOL), the way I dressed, etc."

—u/SinfulPurr

16. "IDK. They didn't need a reason for it, I guess."

—u/locoyou20000

StopBullying.gov is an organization that provides resources to prevent harassment and bullying against children. Stomp Out Bullying offers a free and confidential chat line here.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.