Bullying and Mental Health
- Leah Cox
- Dec 18, 2020
- 2 min read
When you are a child you are developing who you will be in the future. Unfortunately, this means that going through traumatic situations such as bullying, can have a lasting effect on your mental health. In this post I will be explaining how bullying never leaves you. I will also be discussing how bullying is not just something that happens in school. If you are affected by this post, I will leave links below that might help.
How it Never Leaves
I was bullied when I was around the ages 8-11. This is a huge time in your life when you are developing all the characteristics for who you will be in the future. I was called things like ‘weak’ every day along with similar and harsher words. I remember when I was in school someone said to me that I always looked so sad, I didn't even know the last time I had smiled. I felt so alone. It got to the point where I would make myself sick in order to get sent home because I could not handle being there anymore. Thankfully, teachers and pupils began to realise what was going on and the bullying stopped. However, the aftereffects of the bully do not go with the bully. I was no longer able to trust anyone. Any friends that I made, I had no trust towards them, and I was constantly waiting for them to realise that they did not like me and leave. Even today, even though I have the most amazing friends, when I walk out of a room my head will tell me that they are all talking about me because my anxiety tells me ‘I’m weak’ just like the bully did.
Trolling
However, this does not just happen to people in schools. An example of this is the recent case of Jesy Nelson who formally was a part of the girl group, Little Mix. She decided after a long time of getting hate for how she looks, to take it upon herself to leave Little Mix to save herself. People think that because they are typing behind a screen, they can say whatever they want. They forget how devastating it is for the person who is reading the comments. It does not matter whether it is to your face by one individual or comments online. The more you get told something about yourself, the more you believe it. I was 10 and I still believe that I am weak, annoying and that no one actually likes me. Words stay with you.
Be Kind
My advice here is to just be kind. Teach your children to be kind. When someone you love is not being kind, speak out and show them that it is wrong. No one knows the full extent of what anyone is going through. It does not hurt to be kind, but it can be life threatening for someone else to not be. Today I am asking you to do something that you would not normally. Tell someone how much they mean to you, help that person you know is struggling and spread kindness on social media. Just be kind.
Resources
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/the-truth-about-bullying-and-mental-health/
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