Examining the Impact of Bullying on Children’s Mental Health
Bullying is a serious, but unfortunately fairly frequent, issue that affects children all over the world, in schools and even online. A lot of people consider bullying to be a common and even normal part of childhood and growing up, but bullying can have a severe negative impact on a child’s mental health.
While both positive and negative experiences shape a person into the person they become as an adult, if a child is bullied, they’re more likely to experience issues with their emotional development, self-image, and overall mental health and well-being.
Let’s examine the impact of bullying on children’s mental health.
Anxiety and Depression
One of the most common effects of bullying on a child’s mental health is the development of anxiety and depression. Children who are constantly the target of bullying can become fearful, sad, or hopeless. If these feelings are left unaddressed, they can turn into serious or even chronic issues.
Low Self-Esteem
A child’s self-esteem can also be negatively affected by bullying. Children can be bullied based on their actions, behaviors, or looks. Because of this, they can start to believe those negative messages. This can lead to a distorted self-view, which can impact their development and even prevent them from engaging in academic or social activities.
Social Isolation
When a child is bullied or made fun of by their classmates and peers, they may start to withdraw or isolate as a way to protect themselves. They might start avoiding their classmates, pretend to be sick to stay home from school, and even pull away from activities, social events, or family members. A child may believe this will make things better, but it can make things worse in the long run.
Being social at a young age is extremely important for one’s development. Isolation can increase feelings of rejection and loneliness and can even cause issues with communication and trust later in life.
Added Stress
When a child is bullied, they’re more likely to develop added stress or even fear of the person/group and their actions. This added stress can cause them other disruptions in their daily life and routine. A child who was formerly a good student may even see a decline in their academic performance. Bullying can lead to not completing homework assignments, doing poorly on tests, having difficulty concentrating, and losing interest in learning.
Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm
In extreme cases, bullying can be linked to self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Self-harm is often seen as a short-term solution to cope with the effects of bullying. Many children and adults turn to this as a way to try to cope with the pain they’re experiencing. In these cases, it’s extremely important to seek additional support for one’s mental health before things become even worse.
Next Steps
As you can see, bullying shouldn’t be dismissed or normalized. In fact, bullying has been on the rise thanks to the digital world. While bullying used to happen face-to-face or in person, children now have access to the world at their fingertips. Platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and other websites and social media platforms allow children to comment, direct message, or post while they’re away from school. This can make it even easier for someone to engage in cyberbullying.
Whether the bullying is done in person or virtually, the effects can be the same. Bullying can have a long-lasting impact on a child’s mental health, even extending into their adult years. It’s important to take bullying seriously. If you see a child struggling, it is important to create a safe and secure environment and address the issue strategically to ensure a productive outcome. It can be very helpful to work with a therapist to develop strategies and learn coping mechanisms to deal with bullying.
Bullying is serious and can be complex. Therapy will equip both you and your child with tools to handle bullying effectively.
Therapists at Wellness Matters can help. Feel free to contact us today to set up an appointment. You can connect with the Wellness Matters Intake Coordinator by texting or calling (218) 616-1276
At Wellness Matters, the intake process is all on-line and can be done in less than fifteen minutes. On-line appointments make it possible to attend appointments from the comfort from your home or office. In-person services may also be available for people living in northern MN.
