Anti bullying week 2025; 10th -14th November. Bullying is not just “kids being kids.” Its effects can last long after school or college end. Each November, Anti-Bullying Week invites us to challenge harmful behaviour and build kinder communities. It is also a chance to talk about a quieter legacy of bullying that many adults recognise later in life: dissociation.
What dissociation is
Dissociation is a protective response to overwhelm. You might feel detached from yourself, numb, on autopilot, or as if the world is distant or dream like. It can be brief under stress, or more persistent if the nervous system learned early that “switching off” was safer than feeling.
How bullying can lead to dissociation in adulthood
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Chronic stress in childhood or teens teaches the body to survive by stepping back from intense feelings.
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Humiliation and threat can wire in habits of scanning for danger, then “checking out” when it feels too much.
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Social exclusion may leave adults bracing in group settings, with meetings or parties triggering fogginess or time loss.
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Online bullying can follow into adult life, where notifications pull up old patterns of panic and numbing.
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Workplace echoes such as microaggressions, power imbalance, or public criticism can re-activate the old loop: threat, freeze, detach.
None of this means you are broken. It means your body learned to protect you.
Everyday signs you might notice now
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Going blank in meetings or during conflict
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Hearing feedback and remembering very little of it
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Rereading the same line with nothing going in
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Avoiding social plans because you “zone out” when you go
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Feeling like a passenger in your own day
Quick ways to come back to the present
Try one or two of these for sixty to ninety seconds.
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Name the moment. Say the date, where you are, and one next small step.
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“It is Tuesday afternoon. I am at my desk. I will drink water and open the first email.”
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4-2-4 breathing. In for four, hold for two, out for four. Repeat four or five times.
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Five senses Five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste.
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Temperature and touch. Cool water on your hands, a warm mug, or a stress ball to anchor your body.
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Feet and movement. Press feet into the floor, uncurl your toes, roll shoulders, stand and stretch.
Longer-term support that helps
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Trauma-informed psychotherapy such as EMDR or trauma-focused CBT to process memories and reduce triggers.
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Body-based practices like yoga, tai chi or breath-led movement to rebuild a sense of being at home in your body.
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Boundaries and scripts for tricky relationships.
“I will talk about this after lunch.”
“Please send feedback by email.”
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Work or university adjustments such as quiet spaces, predictable meeting formats, or written summaries of key points.
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Kind routines that steady the nervous system: light in the morning, regular food and water, movement, and time outdoors.
If you support someone who dissociates
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Speak calmly and simply. Offer orientation: “You are with me. It is early evening. We are safe.”
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Offer choices, not pressure: “Window open or closed” “Tea or water”
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Reduce noise and bright lights if possible. Stay nearby until they feel steadier.
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Ask in advance what helps them, so you have a simple plan you both trust.
When to seek extra help
Speak to a GP or mental health professional if dissociation is frequent, lasts a long time, or affects safety, study, work or relationships. Seek urgent help if you notice self-harm urges or thoughts about not wanting to be here.
Support now
UK
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Samaritans free, confidential, 24/7 on 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org
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Shout free 24/7 text support. Text SHOUT to 85258
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NHS 111 use 111 online or call 111 for urgent mental health help
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In an emergency call 999
USA
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988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call or text 988 24/7
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Crisis Text Line text HOME to 741741 24/7
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In an emergency call 911
Stay connected with Ground Me
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On iPhone open the App Store and download Ground Me Dissociation Aid, check your dissociation level now and see whether it sits in a healthy range
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On Android coming soon
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Sign up to our newsletter on the groundme.app homepage to be the first to know
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Questions contact us via groundme.app
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One-to-one mental health support email bilge@groundme.app
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Become a test user and find our socials via our Linktree
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Follow @groundmeapp on Instagram for updates and grounding tips
Anti-Bullying Week is about more than preventing harm in the moment. It is about healing the long tail of harm too. With small anchors, safe people and steady support, presence can return, and old patterns from bullying do not have to shape your adult life.
