Negative power of words ....

This is connected, in a way, to a previous post about words. That one was upbeat and light - about the joy of words and reading ... this was originally written when my state of mind was anything but happy ( I don't feel as bad as that now .. this was me at my most down and almost depressed I think ). I am not entirely sure about posting it here (perhaps it is a little too personal ?) but I think I should ... it shows how words can have a negative as well as positive effect on people. Perhaps I was being a bit too sensitive to others opinions, to what others said to me at the time ... but this is what I felt ... and still do to some extent.... . Despite what I have written here, I know words are not only negative, the cause of the problem ... they can be the solution too ...

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There is an old expression that goes like this : ' Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me ' ... you will never know how wrong that expression is to me. Words can do so much damage, can hurt you in ways sticks and stones never will.

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but bones and bruises heal fairly quickly. They are just physical injuries. The injuries caused by words - be they said to be directly hurtful or just those carelessly spoken - these are not visible to the naked eye. They have the ability to wound not your flesh but your self-worth, your sense of self, your confidence, your core of being. These wounds can run very deep indeed and take a lifetime to heal, if they heal at all.

Words can, to use another expression, ' cut like a knife ', can wound you deeply. Ridicule of a person for just being themselves, for being different, for not fitting in with the perceived norm - this slowly but surely chips away at a person, little by little inflicting tiny cuts until they become open wounds, continuously opening the same wounds again and again, never allowing them to heal. Every time they open, even more pain is inflicted and endured.

So that person starts to build defences, puts up barriers in their mind to try and protect themselves, to stop the wounds from being continuously re-opened. They withdraw, hide away, keep away from others just in case they might to hurt again. In trying to escape the pain and torture they feel, they become isolated - and an even easier target for those who wish to hurt. They are then accused of being anti-social, of not being a " team player ", of being aloof, a snob .... so the words continue, and they continue to hurt, to cut, to wound - it is like never ending circles, going around and around, down and down, driving the person deeper into depression and despair. What ever they do, it never feels like it will end, will stop.

So yes, you can be hurt by physical means , by the sticks and stones of the expression , but words can do damage too, more than you can possibly imagine. Abuse and torture doesn't only come in physical form .... some people should remember that.