Being bullied is a miserable and heartbreaking experience that can often cause lasting emotional and psychological damage for the victim. Sadly, many adults, particularly if they’ve never been victims of bullying, find it difficult to understand the serious effects of teenage bullying and the link between bullying and mental health. Below we examine these issues and also take a closer look at how, in many cases, bullying leads to depression.
The Social, Emotional, And Physical Effects of Bullying
Children who are regularly bullied often suffer – not only socially but also emotionally. In fact, getting depression from bullying is not uncommon. These kids find it difficult to make friends and, once they have a friend or friends, they find it hard to maintain the friendship.
- Self-esteem. A big part of the problem is the low self-esteem victims of bullying often have. This is a direct consequence of the hurtful things bullies often say about them. If someone else calls you a loser or says you are fat day after day, you start to believe that it’s the truth.
- Emotional trauma. Bullying and mental health are closely related. Victims of teenage bullying tend to go through severe emotional trauma. They often feel helpless, lonely, bitter, isolated, angry, frustrated, vulnerable, and anxious. In fact, while teens and anxiety are often no strangers, bullying can dramatically worsen the situation. There are also clear links between depression and bullying. As a matter of fact, getting depression from bullying is quite common. The next consequence could be that these children will start skipping classes. They also often turn to alcohol and drugs to make themselves feel better. And ongoing bullying can lead to depression – and possibly suicide.
- Learned helplessness. Without intervention, teenage bullying can lead to a condition called learned helplessness, where the victim believes that they are unable to change the situation in any way – so they stop trying. From there, the road often leads to feelings of hopelessness and depression.
- Problems could continue into adulthood. Victims of depression from bullying often carry the after-effects deep into adulthood. They might have ongoing self-esteem issues, continue struggling to form lasting relationships, and start avoiding social interaction as much as possible. They often also find it difficult to trust others, which can impact both their personal and career relationships.
- Physical effects of teenage bullying. Apart from the link between bullying and mental health, there are also other side effects. Children who are bullied, for example, often become very anxious. This, in turn, can lead to physical side effects such as ulcers, headaches, and stomachaches. The stress from being bullied can also aggravate pre-existing conditions, including skin disorders, heart problems, and stomach issues.
- Academic impact. Bullying victims also often experience problems academically. Apart from getting depression from bullying, students may find it difficult to concentrate on their schoolwork or forget to do their homework. This could, in turn, cause them to fail one or more classes. As a matter of fact, one of the first signs that your child might have become the victim of bullying is when they slip a grade after previously doing well at school.
- Impact on the teacher. In a school where bullying is rampant, teachers often spend a lot of time enforcing discipline in the classroom so that the quality of their teaching might become negatively impacted.
- Bullying can affect the whole family. Parents often don’t know that, in many cases, bullying leads to depression. When their child becomes the victim of bullying, it is quite common for them to believe that they have failed to protect that child properly or that somehow they lack the right parenting skills. They might also feel guilty because they failed to identify the signs of depression and bullying and act before things got out of hand.
If this sounds like you, just remember that it’s extremely difficult to predict that a bully or bullies will target your child. Apart from not knowing that bullying leads to depression, you might have done nothing wrong at all – yet your child still became the local school bully’s next victim. Don’t be tricked into feeling guilty about what a bully is doing. Rather focus on what has to be done next to stop what is taking place in its tracks and help your child to recover from the effects of bullying.
With intervention and proper support, most children who were victims of bullying can return to leading perfectly normal lives. Left unchecked, however, there might well be long-term after-effects.
Does Your Child Suffer From Bullying-related Depression?
Bullying and mental health are closely linked. Depression and bullying, for example, often go hand in hand – and it is a well-known fact that bullying leads to depression in many cases. While all of us sometimes feel a bit down, when your child or teenager starts experiencing extended periods of feeling miserable or sad, the chances are that he or she is suffering from depression caused by bullying. A visit to a mental health professional such as Dr. Ana Puga could help your child get started on the road to recovery.
Specifically, watch out for the following signs of depression :
– One of the effects of bullying is that your child could develop behavioral problems at school
– He or she might no longer be interested in everyday activities that they used to enjoy
– Their grades are lower than usual
– They start to fail classes
If not properly addressed during childhood, depression and bullying can go on to cause serious problems throughout a person’s lifetime. If bullying, for example, causes your child to do poorly at school, they might not be able to go to college. This will negatively affect their future career choices and earning power. Children with depression often also turn to alcohol or drugs, which can easily spill over to the rest of their lives.
Helping Your Child To Overcome Bullying and Depression
As a parent, your first step should be to get to the core of the issue. Talk to your kid’s school administrators and teachers and explain to them that they are having issues. It’s very important to determine who the bully is and what exactly they have been doing or saying. Also, insist that the school takes the necessary steps to stop the bullying in its tracks.
Once the bullying has come to an end, your kid can start processing what has happened to him or her. At this stage, it’s very important to begin a dialogue with them. Having an open conversation about what happened and the effects of bullying on them is part of showing that you care.
Your next step should be to make an appointment with a mental health professional specializing in teen depression treatment. If you live in or near Florida, visiting a pediatrician in Miami is a good option. A trained and experienced pediatrician will best evaluate what needs to be done and work with the parents to draw up a care plan. Depending on the seriousness of the situation, part of your child’s treatment might consist of medication.
Getting Help From a Mental Health Professional
We hope the above will help readers realize how severe bullying-related depression is and what scars it can leave on the victim’s later life. Did we answer all your questions or not? Please feel free to visit our website to read more about the services we provide. And if you still have questions or want to make an appointment, please, contact us.
