Bullying: Victim, Attacker and the Witness

When we say the term ‘bullying’, we often picture a child at school getting picked on. But it could be a child in the kindergarten or in the college to a person working in an MNC or hospital, who is facing it, inflicting it or witnessing it. An adult may be able to handle the situation and come out of it, but when it is a child in the similar scenario, he might have a great psychological impact. This can further affect the development of his personality as an adult in turn affecting the parents and the community.

The popular Netflix series ’13 Reasons why”, the latest “Insatiable”, etc., and movies like ‘Mean Girls’, “A Girl Like Her’, “Hope Floats”, have one thing in common which is the concept of bullying. These show how popular or physically attractive kids torment other kids and get away with it most of the times.
Bullying impacts, not just the kid who gets bullied, but also the one who bullies and the others who see it happening. Let’s see how that happens.

THE VICTIM

Affects the ability to trust

Bullying creates a strong sense of distrust in the child. It might not come to notice initially, but as the child matures and socializes, this profoundly developed mistrust emerges strongly. It becomes one of the major reasons for failed relationships and friendships in the person’s life.

Affects the ability to learn

The child constantly worries about being bullied. He thinks that where, when, why and how he could be targeted next. This leads to lack of concentration and increased levels of stress, distracting him and negatively affecting his brain receptors.

Hatred towards School and Teachers

The child does not feel accepted in the school and feels unsafe. He might start showing great resistance to going to school. A lot of kids drop out of schools and colleges because of the issue. Or even if they continue, the school incidents affect their academic performances. They even tend to develop a strong disliking towards the teachers and the whole school system as they feel helpless and victimized.

Vengeful Behavior

The child feels like nobody cares enough for him. He reaches a point where his anger overtakes his sanity. The child might often act out. He may plan to take revenge from the people around whether they are responsible or not. We have come across many incidents in the news of school shooting and the attacker had a history of being bullied.

Mental Health Issues

Such situations could be emotionally taxing for the child. He constantly faces criticism for looks, clothes, any disability (if there), etc., leads to a low sense of self-worth and creates major self-esteem issues. The child is constantly stressed out. This, if prevails for long, further leads to anxiety issues, depression, PTSD, etc. The child could even become suicidal.

Few symptoms a child might show that indicate bullying at school:
• Change in eating patterns
• Remains aloof
• Change in sleeping patterns
• Avoids socializing
• Exhausted most of the times
• Ignores going to school
• Nightmares
• No play dates

THE ATTACKER

The attacker here would be the one who bullies others. They are likely to:

• Engage in violent behaviour
• Use drugs and alcohol
• Engage in sexual activities early or offensive of nature
• Engage in criminal activities
• Be abusive towards the partner or children
• Develop a sense of entitlement
• Involved in damaging public or private property

THE WITNESS

The kids around witnessing bullying also bear its effects. They are likely to:

• Develop a fear of the bullies
• Skip school
• Involves in drug and alcohol abuse
• Develop mental health problems

Even after making strict laws and rules, we often come across cases of suicides in colleges and schools due to this reason. Such incidents affect the lives of the people around and the families of the children involved. There is an increase in the number of suicide cases because of bullying. People discriminate the victim on the basis of colour, race, nationality, the type of clothes they wear, body structure, etc. And when nobody comes to their rescue, family or friends, it increases the issues they are already going through, affecting their mental well-being.

Do you happen to know a child in such situation? Do you think he needs help? Call us at +91-9069069069.