When dealing with workplace bullying, don’t overlook good nutrition

Last week, I received an email from Torii Bottomley, a veteran educator who experienced workplace bullying in the Boston Public School system and spent years in an ultimately successful, yet exhausting legal battle to recover workers’ compensation benefits. Her core message was simple: When dealing with bullying at work and other forms of traumatic mistreatment, don’t overlook the vital importance of good nutrition to support your health.

With Torii’s permission:

I used to say the First Response to a bullying situation would be: get a lawyer, get a notebook, and to that I would add get Meals on Wheels.

So much of the damage I am trying to heal from is the result of years of poor nutrition because I could not take care of myself.  The poor nutrition exacerbated the mental and physical toll that the PTSD took on me. IF I had thought about and availed myself to meal deliveries which I could have “afforded” at the time because Meals on Wheels is free or a contribution, my recovery would have been easier and I would not have lost so much.

(For readers not familiar, Meals on Wheels is a non-profit organization that works with local networks to provide daily, in-person delivery of hot, prepared meals to seniors and other eligible individuals.)

Trauma, nutrition, and mental health

Although healthier eating is often a casualty of psychological trauma and other severe stress generally, my exchange with Torii’s prompted me to realize that we don’t highlight this important aspect of self-care nearly enough in discussing how to cope with abusive work environments and the road to recovery.

In a blog piece for Psychology Today titled “How Trauma, Nutrition, and Mental Health Fit Together” (link here) connecting trauma, nutrition, and mental health, Dr. Gia Marson explains that “(w)hen it comes to our basic need for nourishment, trauma can interfere with healthy eating. Traumatic experiences can have impacts on food-related experiences and behaviors including”:

• Eating without routine
• Stocking up on food.
• Losing control with food.
• Restricting or controlling food.
• Consuming high-fat, sugar, and/or salt diets.
• Body shaming experiences.
• Relying on easy-to-access foods.
• Experiencing food scarcity.
• Basing decisions about food on short-term needs.
• Feeling shame utilizing food assistance.
• Difficulty planning and budgeting for food.

More from Torii Bottomley

In a follow-up email, Torii revised her suggested “First Response” kit for targets of workplace bullying to include:

• lawyer
• therapist
• doctor
• Notebook
• Meals on Wheels
• therapy animal

For those not eligible for Meals on Wheels or a similar service, I recommend searching “advice on trauma and nutrition” for ideas and guidance.

Family and friends can play an important role here, too, by providing encouragement and support to maintain a good diet, as well as cooking healthy meals or helping out with the grocery bill. In addition to asking “how are you doing?,” one might add, “how are you eating?”

In sum, maintaining a healthy diet is an integral part of one’s toolkit for dealing with and recovering from workplace bullying and other traumatic experiences. Thank you to Torii Bottomley for providing this very important reminder.