How LinkedIn and other professional spaces can feel triggering after workplace bullying

How LinkedIn and other professional spaces can feel triggering after workplace bullying.

After workplace bullying, it’s not just the job you lose. Sometimes, you lose your sense of safety in the very spaces meant to help you rebuild.

1. LinkedIn is a Great Tool… Until It Isn’t

Most career advice will tell you to get on LinkedIn, connect with past colleagues, and build your network. But what happens when your past colleagues are part of the harm? When your bullies are still watching, commenting, posting—and being celebrated?

For survivors of workplace bullying, LinkedIn can feel like a minefield of triggers. That casual scroll becomes an emotional ambush.

2. Re-Traumatization Through Visibility

Every time you show up professionally—especially in spaces that value appearances over authenticity—you’re taking a risk. Will they see you? Will they twist your words? Will someone report back?

Survivors don’t just fear being seen. They fear being misrepresented again. The same way they were when performance reviews were skewed, feedback weaponized, and character questioned.

3. The Loss of Neutral Ground

Networking is supposed to be neutral. But after trauma, neutrality disappears. Coffee chats, Slack communities, even industry events start to feel like they belong to “them,” not you.

It’s like the world of work moved on and you’re still holding the silence.

4. The Deeper Impact

Isolation becomes more than just a feeling—it becomes a strategy. You shrink your voice to stay safe. You stop posting. You ghost your old network. But hiding isn’t healing. And silence isn’t safety.

5. What We Need Instead

We need safer spaces. Not just for career growth—but for career recovery. Spaces where we don’t have to pretend. Where the cost of visibility isn’t more harm. Where we don’t have to network with our abusers in the room.

Conclusion:

If you’ve been pulling back from LinkedIn or other professional spaces, you’re not lazy. You’re responding to a very real wound.

And maybe it’s time we talked about it.

At Growth and Grit Studio, I’m building coaching tools and support specifically for people like you—those navigating work after harm, and redefining what professionalism even means.

Because reclaiming your voice doesn’t have to mean re-entering the spaces that tried to silence it.

Disclaimer:

The content provided by Growth and Grit Studio, including all coaching sessions, courses, downloadable tools, videos, and written materials, is based on personal experience, research, and practical workplace strategy. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only.

I am not a lawyer, therapist, or licensed mental health professional. Nothing shared should be interpreted as legal advice, mental health counseling, or a guarantee of outcome.

While the tools and strategies I offer are rooted in real-world applications and my own lived experiences of workplace bullying and recovery, your situation is unique, and outcomes will vary.

Please consult a qualified legal or mental health professional for advice specific to your case.

By participating in this program or using these materials, you acknowledge and accept responsibility for your own actions and decisions.