10/15/2026
BE A VOICE. NOT A VICTIM. 🧡
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, but bullying is not something we should talk about for only one month—or something that happens only on a school playground.
Nearly 1 in 5 high-school students reports being bullied at school. Research has also found that young people who are frequently bullied can have nearly 4 times the odds of attempting su***de. And the effects don’t necessarily disappear when childhood ends. Studies have linked childhood bullying with increased depression, anxiety and suicidality decades later, even into middle age.
Those aren’t just statistics. They are children. They are teenagers. They are our friends, coworkers, neighbors, patients and family members.
And bullying doesn’t stop at adulthood.
It can happen in schools, workplaces, social circles and communities. It can be physical and obvious, but it can also be verbal, emotional and psychological. It can look like exclusion, humiliation, intimidation, gossip, spreading lies or deliberately trying to damage someone’s reputation. And today, it can be even easier to inflict harm while hiding behind a screen, a fake account or anonymity.
Sometimes the deepest wounds are the ones no one else can see.
People who bully others may be acting from their own insecurity, anger, jealousy, pain or personal struggles—but whatever the reason, another innocent human being should never become the recipient of someone else’s unresolved problems.
The answer isn’t more cruelty. It’s more voices willing to stand against it.
We need more people willing to say, “That’s not okay.”
More people willing to defend the person who isn’t in the room.
More people who refuse to participate in gossip or pile onto someone simply because others are doing it.
More adults modeling the behavior we expect from our children.
And we need every person who is being bullied to know something very important:
Someone else’s cruelty does not determine your worth.
The young lady pictured here reminded me exactly why this matters. Despite experiencing tremendous loss and being bullied for things that should never make a child a target, she walked into my office with strength, kindness and a beautiful spirit. I told her that day that she was an eagle—and that she should never allow people pecking at the ground to convince her that she was meant to stay there with them.
As a mother, doctor, business owner and member of this community, I will always stand against bullying—whether the victim is 8, 18, 50 or 80. I will stand up for children who haven’t yet found their voices, and I will stand beside adults who may be quietly experiencing the same cruelty.
Because kindness isn’t weakness. Standing up for someone isn’t creating drama. And remaining silent when someone is being deliberately hurt only gives cruelty more room to grow.
We need more voices against bullying—and fewer victims left believing they have to endure it alone.
Stand up for the bullied.
Support one another.
Lift each other up.
Be the reason someone smiles.
Be a voice, not a victim. 🧡
— Dr. Misty Lenk
Lenk Orthodontics
Creating Smiles for Botetourt and Beyond
