Bullying, an aggressive behavior, has serious detrimental effects on the psychology and emotions of its victim.
Bullying involves providing deliberate harm and humiliation to those who are physically weak, young, or emotionally vulnerable. Bullying could be in the form of verbal attacks, such as taunting, abusing, and name-calling, or physical attacks, such as kicking and hitting. It can also involve emotional abuse such as blackmailing or social exclusion. These days a new form of bullying called cyberbullying is on the rise. It occurs in the form of trolling and spreading rumors.
There are significant negative impacts on the victims of bullying. They are likely to experience social isolation and frustration. The victim often suppresses his/her negative emotions due to embarrassment and is likely to project them towards family members. This further leads to poor family relationships. Besides, victims also experience symptoms of anxiety-like nervousness, breathlessness, trembling, etc. Children are likely to avoid going to school which affects their academics and social life. They also exhibit low-self esteem and feelings of guilt.
There are some long-term negative impacts as well which are associated with chronic depression, suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress disorder, and disrupted social skills. Bullying also results in poor cognitive performance such as attention, concentration & memory issues.
School systems and families must take an effort to eradicate the issue of bullying. Counseling services should be made more accessible and frequent. In the recent past, there have been some anti-bullying campaigns that seek to enhance more harmony among students and prevent violence. Efforts like these should be encouraged.
Finally, subjects like moral education must be added in school & college curricula to impart important values of respect & dignity.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Dhruv Beri is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.