7 Ways Bullying Affects Health in Children
We’re heading back into the school season and while there are many anti-bullying campaigns out there and an overall greater awareness of it, it still happens and your child may be on the receiving end of it – or even be the one delivering it.
Bullying can affect physical and emotional health, both in the short term and later in life. It can lead to physical injury, social problems, emotional problems, and even death. Those who are bullied are at increased risk for mental health problems, headaches, and problems adjusting to school. Bullying also can cause long-term damage to self-esteem.
Your child may not want to talk about it, but there are signs and symptoms of being bullied that might present themselves. Although specific signs vary, some possible signs include disliking or avoiding school, depression or anxiety, low self-esteem, and self-destructive behaviours.
It is important to identify the source of the bullying and try to address it, as it can have major physical and mental impacts on kids. Here are seven things to look for…
1. Depression
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development explains that depression is a biggie when it comes to being bullied. Depression can cause kids to withdraw and become less interested in things they previously enjoyed.
Research has shown that not only is the victim of bullying at risk of becoming depressed, but also the bully.
2. Sleep Impacts
Proper sleep is essential to a child’s development and performance in school, but being bullied can throw off their sleep patterns. Again it is not only those being bullied that are impacted – those who bully are hurting themselves, too.
The explanation for why bullies lose sleep may be tied to an underlying health problem. Multiple studies have shown that aggressive kids are more likely to have sleep-disordered breathing than their non-aggressive counterparts which may affect their sleep patterns.
3. Headaches and Stomach aches
Stress from being teased and bullied at school can have a physical manifestation. Children’s National Health System says your child may experience a variety of symptoms from headaches, stomach aches, and even dizziness.
Of course, there are other direct physical impacts of bullying from being slapped, punched, or pushed around. You may notice bruises on your child that they may or may not have plausible explanations for.
4. Drug Abuse
Those who pick on others may get into alcohol and other riskier drugs in adolescence. Taking drugs – especially illicit drugs – can affect a young person in many adverse ways, from getting into trouble to having negative health reactions that can be life-threatening.
5. Repressed anger
Constant bullying can cause a child to internalize anger. Bullying can result in “intense feelings of anger and fantasies of revenge” within the child. This may make it tougher to work through the sadness and anxiety associated with it.
6. Digestive problems
There is a close relationship between the brain and digestive system. The network of nerves that are connected to your gut can be stimulated and cause problems when under stress.
Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying is very much a problem too using social media is another way for bullys to create intimidation, upset and embarrassment. This is just as bad if not worse than physical bullying as it can reach a whole network of “friends” and “associates” “rather than one on one”
For the person instigating the bullying it’s an easy and quick way to hurt someone without actually being so aware of how much it can affect that person.
Keeping track of online activity is very difficult for anyone to monitor but if you talk to your children about what normal acceptable communication is and ensure accounts are kept private to stop strangers from entering their “social media world”
There are so many helpful organisations like the NSPCC that offer advice and tips on protecting your child from social media dangers.
Looking at these websites as a family is an opportunity to get together with your child, putting them at ease to discuss anything they may be worried about
To help someone who is being bullied, support the person and address the bullying behaviour.
Allow time and listen to the child who is being bullied to talk to you but also let them know that there are other people who they can talk to.
Give the child advice on what they can do to help themselves.
Most places of learning have policies on how to deal with bullying so discuss with the person in charge on how to deal with the bullying.
Kids need to know that bullying is taken seriously
Source: