What Are the Mental Health Consequences of Bullying

By Dr. Arastou Aminzadeh, M.D., Founder, BNI Treatment Centers

Being bullied in school is not a new phenomenon, as all adults can easily attest to. Who among us didn’t find ourselves the object of ridicule at one point or another during our school years? But much has changed in the last decade, fueling the severity, persistence, and far reaching realm of teen bullying.?

These days bullying is fueled by social media apps, used as weapons to destroy the victim’s reputation. These online bullying assaults cause far more emotional devastation than anything we ever experienced as kids. The long-term effects of this maltreatment by teen peers can result in significant psychological fallout.

How Pervasive is Bullying?

Although rates of bullying have increased over the decades, the reasons for bullying have remained virtually unchanged. Penn State’s Youth Voice Project cited the top reasons for being bullied, as reported by the victims, were looks (55%), body shape (37%), and race (16%). According to the National Center for Educational Statistics nearly one out of every four students (22%) reported being bullied during a given school year.

The statistics are truly sobering, as 77% of students have admitted to being the victim of some kind of bullying during their years of school, 50% of teens report having been bullied online, and 33% of teens have experienced cyber threats online through social media.? Bullying has become a serious social problem, and its repercussions run far and deep.

Long-Term Effects of Being a Victim of Bullying

Bullying causes deep emotional pain and distress at the time it occurs, but recent research now illustrates how bullying’s effects are linked to health problems in adulthood.? Research out of Canada was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and paints a bleak picture for the victims of bullying.

A longitudinal study followed 662 Canadian adolescents aged 12-19 from 2003-2014, and found that both emotional and physical bullying were associated with physical health problems later in life. Physical health issues include abdominal pain, backaches, headaches, poor body image, and dizziness. A key finding was that female respondents experienced more physical health problems and poor body image than the male respondents.

According to researcher Alanna Hager, “These health problems, be it depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, or poor self-concepts, can interfere with several life domains including academic and occupational performance, relationship satisfaction, economic success and cause more severe health outcomes.”

Being bullied in adolescence or teen years causes deep pain that may contribute to a multitude of emotional and physical difficulties throughout life. The teen years are rife with feelings of insecurity, so any cruel blows to a tender psyche have the power to leave permanent scars.?

Kids internalize the painful effects of this maltreatment, and the deep-seated pain can manifest into stress-related conditions, such as depression and anxiety. In severe cases, the victim may begin to engage in self-harm or contemplate, or attempt, suicide.

How Bullying Impacts Teen Self-Esteem

The teen years are difficult enough without bullying adding even more strife to a child’s life. Adolescence is a critical period for developing healthy self-esteem. How a teen values him or her self, their sense of self-worth, will influence various realms of their life.?

For example, having a positive sense of self propels the teen to try out for sports or join clubs or compete in academic contests. If a teen believes in themselves they are more apt to apply to college and set goals.

Being bullied can devastate a teen’s sense of self-worth. Being mocked and ridiculed daily slowly wears down the teen’s defenses, and can have a highly detrimental effect on their self-esteem.

Be on the alert for these signs of a teen’s plummeting self-esteem:

• Negative self-talk, such as, “I am so stupid,” “I could never learn how to do that,” or “No way can I get into college.”
• Excessive bragging, as this is a sign of an inferiority complex. Bragging or exaggerating is a way to compensate for low self-worth.
• Watch body language, such as slouching, walking with their head down, or eyes downcast.
• Binge eating is a coping mechanism using food to satisfy a void inside.
• Trouble sustaining friendships, possibly due to a negative attitude or surly demeanor.?

Signs of Teen Depression

Teens who are suffering from being bullied at school or on social media may become despondent. With the recent rise in teen suicides it is critical that the symptoms of depression be recognized and acted upon. These symptoms include:

• Persistent sad or irritable mood
• Decreased interest in activities once enjoyed
• Indecisiveness, decreased concentration
• Feelings of hopelessness or despair
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Hostility, angry outbursts
• Apathy
• Change in appetite, weight gain or loss
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Excessive fatigue
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Complaining often of minor ailments, such as headaches or stomachaches
• Psychomotor agitation or retardation
• Substance abuse
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation

How to Respond to Bullying

Because much of the bullying still takes place on school grounds, the victims of the verbal or physical assaults are captive. With school attendance being mandatory, they feel they have nowhere to run. Victims of this mistreatment hesitate to report the abuse, fearing even more severe social repercussions.

Within the school environment, faculty members need to be more aware of bullying and to be proactive when witnessing bullying behavior on campus or during extracurricular events. By immediately administering swift negative consequences to the perpetrator, a deterrent is created that sends a message to other students.?

Parents of both the victim and the bully should be notified and steps should be taken to have the bully make amends. A paper trail is then created that can serve as basis for further disciplinary action in any future bullying events enacted by that perpetrator.

Parents should strive to keep lines of communication with their teen open. They should look for signs of distress in their child by paying attention to changes in behavior—such as depression, not wanting to go to school, falling grades, physical signs of abuse, and isolating behavior—and initiate a conversation with them. This allows the teen to share their feelings and fears, and parents to provide the loving support their teen so deserves.

If your teen exhibits a cluster of these signs and symptoms, it is appropriate for them to be examined first by a doctor. If there is no presenting medical issue that could be causing these symptoms, the doctor will refer the teen to a mental health professional for further assessment.?

About the Author

Dr. Arastou Aminzadeh is a triple board certified physician in psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and addiction medicine, and is the co-founder of BNI Treatment Centers in Agoura Hills, California. Dr. Aminzadeh is a fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and also a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.?A well respected leader in the field, he also holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Southern California,?Keck School of Medicine, where he completed his residency and fellowship.