by Heather Warner

Created on: November 25, 2008   Last Updated: October 17, 2011

While lying in bed tonight, thinking of the day, will you be asking yourself "Why did I let her say that to me?" or "How could I let him treat me that way?"

Many people will ask themselves those exact questions, and many will not. I suppose the answer lies deeper within ourselves, down where we define how we feel about ourselves. Each of our own answers to this question, I believe, will be in direct correlation to how we feel about ourselves. It is a well known fact, that people with low self-esteem allow others to treat them badly. If you feel you are worthy of respect, you will demand it. If you feel less than worthy, you are less likely to stand up for yourself.

Initially, you should address the person who is disrespecting you. They may not be aware that they are making you feel disrespected. Inform them that the things they have done or said were disrespectful, and demand an apology. If this person refuses to apologize, or does apologize only to disrespect you again, then it is time to remove them from your life. Doing so only asserts your feelings of self-worth, and the expectation to be treated the same as you would treat anyone else. Why would you want to allow this person the continued opportunity to ridicule and disrespect you? When someone deliberately ridicules you, and disrespects you, usually they are doing it to make up for something they are lacking in themselves. Taking the spotlight off of themselves gives less opportunity for others to discover their shortcomings. They feel they are making themselves look better in one aspect or another. Our mothers explained this same scenario when we were six, being bullied on the school bus. There is no difference in the concept, just the delivery. Another bit of advice from mothers, "If you can't play nice together, you won't play at all". Again, there's no difference.

I had to deal with an issue of disrespect in my home, which ultimately resulted in our family cutting all ties with my husband's best friend of eight years.

My husband's friend, Larry, along with his wife and children were visiting for the weekend. They would regularly visit and stay the weekend since we lived so far apart. Larry is somewhat of a difficult personality, and it was common practice for him to degrade his wife and mentally abuse her. This behavior was highly bothersome to my husband and I, but we never interfered in their marital business. Not until the last weekend they visited. Larry was in a particularly bad mood, and was

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