“Rowena Rousseau’s Story of Overcoming Bullying and Suicide Attempts”

Rousseau (28) was already bullied when she was in primary school. She thought the bullying would stop once she got to high school, but sadly it didn’t. After a few fights in high school, the bullying started all over again. “At a certain point I started to think that everywhere I went, people would be against me. I felt like I was on my own.”

Rousseau had sometimes indicated at school that she was having a hard time with it, but according to her nothing was done about it. At the same time, her mother was busy with Rowena’s brother, who was also going through a difficult phase. It was only when Rousseau was beaten up by several children that the school slowly began to see that something was wrong. “I went to a psychologist, but he mainly gave me the feeling that I was asking for attention. Fortunately, I had one friend from another school who supported me.”

It went from bad to worse. Rousseau became more insecure and started taking narcotics to avoid the pain at school. She also stayed home for days, until things went completely wrong. “I didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. Out of anger and sadness I smashed the mirror and cut my wrists with a shard,” she says. Her mother found Rousseau, who had passed out, in her room.

“My mother took me to the ER, where my wrists were stitched right away. The doctor asked me why I did this and what I wanted to achieve with this.” The doctor was hard on Rousseau, but he did shake her up, she says.

After not going to school for a while, she finally chose to go to the high school that her best friend also attended. “I needed rest and wanted a fresh start. At my new school I made friends, but I also started to focus more on myself. Gradually I got motivated again. That led to more and more beautiful things.”

Now, fifteen years later, the twenty-something looks back on her high school days with mixed feelings. “I’m not happy it happened, but I’m glad I got this far. When I started to pick up my life again, I started to get my happiness from writing and singing.”

“I shared my story last week LinkedIn to inspire people. That despite a difficult childhood it can also go in the right direction. Many people responded positively. It is important not to get caught up in the victim role. Above all, try not to let your trauma hold you back. If you feel that you are not feeling well, you can always ask for help. Otherwise you will spend your whole life feeling that you are not good enough.”