Effects of Bullying

IS BULLYING COOL?

Have you ever come across the word bullying before? Bullying is deliberately targeting someone who is different or vulnerable and intimidating them. Bullying is often repeated. It is aimed to belittle the other person and hurt them physically and emotionally.  It is typically directed at certain groups or sorts of individuals such as a person from a certain background, race, religion or sexual orientation. These are just a few examples of why a person could get bullied and there are many more unexplained reason.

The effects of bullying and why it needs to be countered 

There are many long term and short term effects bullying can have a person. The effect could vary on the type of bullying subjected to that individual but the lasting effects are always detrimental.

1. Bullying effects a person’s character development  

A recent study proves that a person can still be effected by bullying even after four decades. This shows how bullying effects the development of a child’s character. It is shown that victims of bullying carry those feelings of doubt and insecurity about themselves through adulthood. This will often lead to suicidal thoughts and long term depression. Children who are bullied often have low self-esteem which they with them to adulthood. Would you want this to happen to you?

2. Bullying effects a person’s socialising skills

Bullying could leave the victim feeling withdrawn from society and have a negative view on socialising. The victim of bullying often feels inferior and in doubt within society. This often leads to the victim being bullied again .The victim is often being left out of social norms and has a negative view on socialising. Bullying also makes the victim unable to overcome feelings of despair and subsequently lack the skills of social integration which means the idea of making friends becomes near enough impossible. This is because bullying changes the mentality of a person, by falsely making them believe that they are, always not worthy of attention. It is a very sad situation to be in.

3. Effects the person’s studies and academic background

Over thousands of students are absent and miss school on a daily basis across the country because of the residing fear of being bullied. Bullying is a major concern in school institutions as students do not reach their maximum potential and ability when they are not in a safe and friendly environment.  Bullying in a school makes the student feel afraid and despise the idea of attending school. Consequently, significant qualifications such as GCSE and A-level grades take a hit which means the prospect of progressing onto University becomes bleak.

4. Suicidal rates 

A recent study shows that 50% of suicides cases amongst the younger generation are related to bullying. Suicidal thoughts are the most severe effects of bullying. Many young children and adults alike have taken their lives because of being traumatically bullied in school.  In recent news a young boy of only twelve years committed suicide after being subjected to harsh bullying after joining a new secondary school two weeks prior to his unfortunate death.  The young boy was found hanging in his bedroom. There can be many factors leading up to suicide such as depression, low self-esteem and feeling worthless, are all feelings which are stimulated by bullying. Could you live with the guilt of knowing that you led someone so far? No? Then speak out against bullying before it is too late.

5. Psychological effects of bullying 

There are many psychological effects which bullying has on a person. Bullying effects a person psychologically as it makes them believe that they are in the wrong even if there’s not an explanation for it. It is like being in a constant state of doubt It makes them believe that they are worthless. This often leads to the victims developing depression and anxiety. To overcome symptoms of depression and anxiety many people take medication or consume alcohol. This can lead them to abusing these substances and relying on them on a daily basis, turning them into monsters of stress and anger. Also the psychological effects could be that victims of bullying turn to self-harm. Self-harm is deliberately punishing and hurting oneself in order to express their feelings of hurt and anger; a cry for help in other words

Personal experience

One of my close friends developed all these psychological effects at an early age in his life.  He was bullied because of the appearance of his ears. Joking turned into teasing, teasing turned into swearing, and swearing turned into physical violence. Still he kept quiet. He was told many times that he was a freak and he should go kill himself. This in turn made him very depressed and suicidal. I would often ask him about the unexplainable cuts all over his arms. He would just shrug in response. He was publically shamed as a video of him was put onto social media. The video went viral and gained attention of all the people of the community. He was labelled as the beast of Birmingham. After the video was posted he went missing for weeks. No one could find him. After two months he was found. He had hung himself under a bridge. His well-known pair of ears were cut off with a pair of blunt scissors. This is just an example of the severity of bullying. Shocking isn’t it?

 What you can do

Anyone can help eradicate bullying and make a big impact on a person’s life. Do not be a bystander, whether the bullying is in a school or online. If you witness bullying stand up to it or tell a teacher. You won’t be considered a “snitch” or “tell-tale”, just think of it as saving someone’s life. You’ll be a hero.