Bullying and its effects on high school children

For people who are bullied, it is both upsetting and depressing. However, many adults, unless they have been bullied themselves, have a difficult time comprehending the extent to which children can suffer. They are oblivious to the fact that bullying has serious consequences that can last a lifetime.

The “empathy gap” is a term used to describe this lack of understanding.1 Working to narrow the empathy gap is among the most effective strategies to strengthen bullying policies and avoid bullying.

In fact, attempts to advocate for victims will be ineffective unless people have a true understanding of how terrible and horrific bullying can be. Here’s a rundown of how bullying affects victims and how they might heal.

What is Bullying

Numerous mental health professionals and Teaching professionals from Schools in India define bullying as unwanted physical or verbal aggression aimed directly at a particular person, which is replicated over time, includes an imbalance of power, and people act to exclude the person from a community. It’s also defined by the bully’s repeated use of his or her victim’s higher socioeconomic class to assert authority and harm the victim. Cyberbullying or online bullying occurs when harassing, calling names, gossiping, outings, rumor spreading, threatening, or other types of intimidation move from face-to-face or phone-to-email, chat sessions, blogging, or other forms of communication over the Web.

Social and Emotional Consequences

As per research conducted by the Boarding Schools in Bengaluru and International Schools in Bengaluru bullies who target children on a regular basis frequently suffer emotionally and socially. They have a hard time not just making friends, but also maintaining healthy friendships.

Low self-esteem is a contributing factor to this problem. The harsh and hurtful things that other kids say about them lead to a loss of self-esteem. When children are repeatedly labeled “fat” or “losers,” they come to believe that these labels are accurate.

Bullying victims are likely to feel a variety of emotions. They may feel enraged, bitter, vulnerable, helpless, frustrated, lonely, and cut off from their peers. As a result, people may skip courses and dull their suffering with drugs and alcohol. If the bullying continues, kids may become depressed and even consider suicide.

If no assistance is made, children may acquire what is known as “learned helplessness.” Bullying victims have learned helplessness, which implies they think they are unable to change their circumstance. As a result, they give up. Then the downward spiral into depression gets even more acute. This leads to a feeling of depressed mood and the belief that there really is no way out.

Bullied children may struggle with self-esteem as adults, have trouble building and sustaining relationships, and shun social contacts. They also may have a hard time trusting individuals, which can damage their personal connections and their job interactions.

They may even begin to accept falsehoods about bullying, such as persuading themselves that the bullying was not as awful as they recall. They may also criticize themselves.

Physical Effects

Another survey done by Schools in Hyderabad shows that there are extra physical expenses on top of the bumps and scrapes that occur with physical bullying. Bullied children, for example, frequently develop anxiety. This anxiety in their body will lead to a number of health problems, such as becoming sick more frequently and developing ulcers and other illnesses as a result of their stress.

Stomachaches & headaches are common complaints among bullied children. Bullying may worsen other pre-existing diseases, such as eczema. When a youngster is bullied, skin disorders, digestive troubles, and heart ailments that are amplified by stress all get worse.

Academic Repercussions

Bullied children frequently struggle academically. Bullied children find it difficult to concentrate on their studies. In fact, one of the first symptoms that a youngster is being bullied is declining grades. Bullying may also cause children to lose track of tasks or have problems paying attention in class.

In order to avoid being bullied, bullied children may skip school or classes. This habit might also lead to a drop in grades. And as the victims of bullying child’s grades begin to slip, it adds to the stress he or she is already feeling.

Effects on the Family

Whenever a kid is bullied, it’s usual for his or her parents and siblings to be impacted as well. Parents frequently face a variety of effects, including the sensation that they have no control over the situation. They may also feel secluded and alone. They might also become fixated on the situation, putting their own well-being and health at risk.

They may doubt their parenting skills as well as feel like they missed safeguarding the youngster from bullying. They may even be concerned that they missed symptoms of bullying and that they could not do enough to protect their child from bullies along the road.

The fact is that no one can foresee who will be targeted by bullies. Even if parents follow all of the rules, their child may still be bullied. As a consequence, they should never blame themselves for a bully’s decisions. Rather, they should assign blame squarely and concentrate on assisting their child in recovering from bullying.