A long-term study shows that bullied children have a more troubled adulthood as it may increase the risk of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem or even feelings of worthlessness. Bullying can have long-term mental-health consequences and increase the chances of psychological distress like depressive symptoms, self-injurious behaviour and suicidal thoughts. Bullying can be distressful especially for minors. Bullying refers to an aggressive behaviour depicted intentionally and repeatedly to obtain more appeal and power against someone.
A research found that students between the age of 12-18 reported being bullied by those who could influence other students’ perception of them. That is why most students don’t actively intervene when bullying occurs in front of them. Bullying should be stopped immediately as it affects both the victim and the perpetrator. Bullying can be of different types, but teasing, inappropriate sexual comments, name-calling, threatening physical harm are the most common ones. Unfortunately, the aftermath of bullying isn’t temporary but can affect a victim’s whole life. The act of bully varies from person to person. Some bullies browbeat others because they like to demean, and doing so gives them self-entitlement, while others bully because they are deeply insecure and envy the person they dislike.
Not every act of bullying is verbal but it can also be social through actions like spreading rumours, purposely leaving someone out of an activity or group, publicly embarrassing a person and encouraging friends to avoid a particular person that may lead to an experience of loneliness and development of health problems like anxiety and depression among the one who get bullied repeatedly. In addition, mental harm and self-harm such as poisoning, cutting, and suicide attempts can also be severe implications that the victim can perform.
In India, children are bullied on the basis of their religion, colour, caste and even economic class. Nevertheless, bullying is unacceptable, regardless of where it occurs, and should be stopped. There are a lot of preventive measures that can be taken against bullying, but before that, people should start taking the initiative for the one who’s being bullied in front of them. In India, there are no specific laws and legislation to deal with a bully, despite being one of the most important yet ignored issue in the country. But on June 12, 2012, the National Assembly passed Bill 56, an act made to stop bullying and violence in schools, which involves various amendments to the Education Act. In addition, this Bill sets out the duties and responsibilities of the relevant school stakeholders and their partners.
It is so disagreeable that one must go through such a feeling. Parents and teachers must notice the signs of bullying and its impact on their children so that the bully is addressed accordingly. Awareness campaigns, anti-bullying laws, strict actions against bullying and a positive environment in schools and workplaces can contribute a lot in terminating bullies. Silence is not an option; suffering in silence can never do any good to you. If you ever face such an activity, say up or consult your guardians or seniors because standing against bullying is more like saving a life.