Pandemic sees fewer adults in Dorset seeking support over bullying
The fall in the number of adults in Dorset getting help for bullying is being blamed on the pandemic
Fewer Dorset adults subjected to bullying are coming forward for help since the pandemic began.
Enquiries to the Dorset Anti-Bullying Service have fallen since the start of the pandemic, while therapy services thrived due to the strain on mental health.
But, they expected their enquiries to increase during lockdowns as communication lines became more strained with working from home.
Alison Fox runs the service and thinks people don't have a strong understanding of what bullying is.
She told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"The reason we predominantly work with adults is because generally speaking people think about children when they think about bullying, as if everybody gets to 18 and they suddenly mature and the bullies don't bully and the targets aren't targeted.
"In reality, that does happen for some people, but for a lot of people who are vulnerable as children, they will continue to be vulnerable throughout their lives.
"When it's physical bullying it's so much easier to detect, but when it's psychological and emotional abuse and bullying it's much harder to detect."
Referrals to Alison's Psychotherapy service have been very busy, which she thinks indicates people are still experiencing the same problems they were before the pandemic.
Alison said:
"It's either that people are feeling better and they don't need the help, or there's some barrier getting in the way to getting in contact.
"It could be because people have been working from home they feel less resourced to be able to make contact, or they're so overwhelmed that they haven't got the mental capacity to reach out for help.
"For some people not physically being in an office with somebody who they're finding very difficult and is being aggressive, would be a relief. But I think the reliance on technology to communicate and particularly e-mails which are particularly easy to misinterpret, could have raised peoples perceptions.
"It doesn't actually mean that it is bullying, but their perception of bullying is greater."
How to get help
Alison is asking anyone who is feeling as though they're being bullied to reach out for support. You can do that on the Dorset Anti-Bullying Service website.