Bullying And Its Effect On Mental Health

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Bullying And Its Effect On Mental Health

What Is Bullying?

Bullying affects the mental health of children and adults in a serious manner. It has affected people for generations but now people understand its harmful mental effects. It is shown that people who are bullied are at a high risk of mental health problems than people who are not bullied. Researches have shown that people who are bullied show some effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but it totally depends on the type of bullying. Other forms of mental health problems that bullied people face are depression and anxiety.

Bullying is always considered a serious threat to the kid’s mental health. Bullying has both short-term and long-term effects on the victim as well as the bullying person. It is also seen that both should be benefited from the psychological help which is provided to both of them.

Bullying is defined by CDC (Center for disease control) as an act of violence or youth violence in which the person who is bullied has aggression or fear towards the person who bullies the victim, which can usually be an individual or maybe a group of individuals. Bullying can include the following behaviors:

Hitting
Pushing
Spiting on the victim
Making fun
Name-calling
Teasing
Spreading lies

These are all types of bullying. There is one more come bullying known which is termed as cyberbullying. This bullying is done by sending or posting negative things and comments about a person on social media or applications, it is basically through digital devices.

Prevalence of Bullying

Researchers have found that there is a prevalence rate of one in five among children. It is happening once every week in schools. They have said that children and young adults are at a high risk of bullying. Usually, students who are new to the school get bullied. As a result, they are unable to trust or make any friends because they think everyone will bully them. In some cases, it is seen that those who had been the victim themselves are more towards bullying other students.

Mental Health Effects

Bullying has severe physical injuries, social effects, mental effects, and in some cases it results in suicide also. Children who are bullied may suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, which come under long term effects. Some people who bully may also revolt back with violence.

People who are bullied usually are at a greater risk for anti-social behavior. They love when they get into fights and also they love to destroy the properties of other people. These people have more drop out and they hate going to schools. They are more in alcohol and substance abuse. These effects may carry on to their adulthood and they are in an abusive relationship with their spouses and children. They are also more in criminal behavior as they are having a criminal mind and behavior as well.

Both the bully-victims- the person who bully and the person who faces bully are at risk of serious effects on their mental health. These include high depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide which may sometimes lead to suicide attempts and the death of the person.

Effects On Victim

Social isolation
Shame feelings
Disturbances in sleeping pattern
Changes in their eating habits
Degradation of self-esteem
Avoiding or bunking school
Anxiety symptoms
Bedwetting
Higher risk of illness
Symptoms like stomachaches, headaches, muscle aches, other complaints which have no known causes (psychosomatic symptoms)
They are poor in their school performance
Depressive symptoms

If you or any of your friends are disturbed due to bullying or if they have a habit of bullying others please consult Dr.R.K.Suri, a clinical psychologist in dealing with bullying issues as well as all mental health issues.

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