We all know that little rhyme:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.”
However, words are often more harmful than physical hurt.
Physical scars heal over time when we stop scratching at them. Mental scars take longer to heal, simply because we keep picking at them for so much longer.
We can all think very carefully about what we say to, or about, people. We’ll never know what kind of damage we’re causing.