What is Bullying?
Bullying is a repeated and unwanted aggressive behavior among people of all ages. One of the main characteristics of this issue is the imbalance of power between the two parties, the bully and the bullied. Some people may think that this action causes harm only to the bullied person, but that is far from being true. The act of bullying can cause serious mental harm to everyone involved in it, even the bystanders because it’s one of the most toxic types of human behavior. Most television shows and movies portray this behavior like it only takes place in schools and that it’s only a phase you go through in your school journey on your way to becoming an adult, but unfortunately, it’s not. Bullying can take place in any place and no matter the age because bullies, if not treated, will always act that way and try to harm everyone around them. In fact, peer pressure can be considered a type of bullying if you really think about it. Forcing and pressuring people to do something or to act in a certain kind of way is and will always be harmful, no matter the label. And speaking of types of bullying, let’s talk briefly about what it looks like.
Types of Bullying:
Children and adults can experience many different types of bullying. In some cases, they can be obvious, while in others they can be subtle. In the following, we examine the various types of bullying and how it might take place.
1. Verbal Bullying:
This is the very first layer, the tip of the iceberg. Most bullies start their habit by using this type because as effortless as it is, it can cause a lot of damage to the person being bullied. Among the types of verbal bullying are name-calling, insults, taunts, intimidation, racist and homophobic remarks, and verbal abuse. Even though it may seem harmless to some people, it will definitely cause some serious harm in the long run.
2. Social Bullying:
This is the cowards’ technique to achieve their goals as this type of bullying can be carried out behind the bullied individual’s back making it harder for them to solve the problem. The whole concept behind social bullying is to destroy someone’s social life and humiliate them as much as possible. The best examples of this type of bullying would be:
- Spreading rumors and lies about someone.
- Encouraging people to socially exclude someone.
- Planning pranks to humiliate someone in public.
- Ruining someone’s reputation.
3. Physical Bullying:
This is by far the worst and most vicious and animalistic type of bullying ever known. Physical bullying is any way to physically harm someone, including kicking, punching, or tripping. Most bullies tend to do this action in public to cause more pain and humiliation to their victims.
4. CyberBullying:
According to the Cyberbullying Research Centre, cyberbullying refers to intentionally and repeatedly inflicting harm through computers, phones, and other electronic devices. In addition to these, social media, instant messaging, texts, websites, and other online platforms also fall under the umbrella of cyberbullying tools. It can happen publicly or privately and is sometimes only known to the victim and the bully. A few examples of this type would be:
- Hacking someone’s social media accounts to sabotage their social life.
- Spreading lies about someone online.
- Mocking or making fun of someone online.
Now that we have a better understanding of the idea, let’s discuss the many harmful effects of bullying.
The Side Effects of Bullying:
It is possible for anyone involved in bullying to be affected; The bully, the victim, and anyone who witnesses bullying. Several negative outcomes can occur as a result of bullying, including mental health problems, substance abuse, and suicide. If you are concerned about bullying or something else in your child's, partner’s, sibling’s, or friend’s life, it is very important to talk to them because acknowledging the problem is the very first step of the healing process.
People who were involved in acts of bullying are more likely to face one of the following issues:
- Depression.
- Anxiety.
- Loneliness.
- Alcoholism.
- Substance Abuse.
- Violent Social Behavior.
- Anger Issues.
- Have Criminal Convictions.
- Self-harm and Suicidal Thoughts.
- Physical Illness.
Now comes the most important part, the healing process. The following will include a few ways that you can try to recover from the massive effects of bullying and carry out a healthy and peaceful life.
How to Recover From Bullying?
This is probably one of the hardest journeys that people can go through during their lives. The healing process is different for adults and children, so let’s mention a few helpful tips for both.
Healing Tips for Adults:
1. Acknowledge Your Past:
Most people tend to deny their past as part of a very common coping mechanism, but this approach to solving or silencing the problem is very wrong. You have to understand that the bullying did happen and that it wasn’t your fault, and then you have to decide to face the problem and start working on it even if it was unpleasant in the beginning.
2. Acknowledge Your Value:
Taking loads and loads of bullying can definitely destroy the way you view yourself and your self-esteem. What you need to do is to know your true worth and value and to know that you’re much more important than you think.
3. Regain Control:
Adulthood is not immune to feelings of powerlessness and helplessness, you can still be carrying those feelings on your shoulders until this day. Consequently, you may live your life as a victim. Despite not being able to control what happened, you can control your reaction to it, and that’s good enough.
Healing Tips for Children:
1. Give Your Child The Right Shields:
Keep reassuring your kid that they’re strong enough to stand up for themselves and that they have the ability to put a stop to this toxic pattern.
2. Make Your Child Feel Protected:
Make sure that your kid realizes that you have their back no matter what happens. This gives them the power and support they need to be brave enough to stand up to their bullies and face them. This is a very important thing that most parents tend to neglect. Without the support your kid needs from you, they will never be ready to face their fears.
3. Try to Know Who is Bullying Your Child:
Knowing who is bullying your child is very important because it would be beneficial for both parties. Talking to the bully’s parents about the matter can be very helpful in the process of stopping this chaotic and toxic pattern because the bully’s parents may have no idea that their kid is acting this way. People always tend to forget that both the bully and the victim need to be saved.
To Sum Up:
Bullying is a major issue that we all need to put an end to. There are a lot of things we can do to make a real change, acknowledging the size of the problem and taking it more seriously would be a perfect start because unfortunately to this day people are still underrating this problem worldwide. If you want to help, you can spread awareness because this is always a much-needed thing that we should all be doing.
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