Nearly 21% of all students in American schools say they have been bullied at one time or another. Studies show that only about 36% of the kids who are bullied report it. Children who are bullied are far more likely to develop mental health and substance abuse problems later in life. It is the job of parents, teachers and mentors to notice the signs of bullying and work together to put a stop to it. The confidence that is lost as a result of bullying is hard to get back. Here are just some of the things you can do to help a child who is being bullied.
Pay Attention to Warning Signs
Due to the shame associated with being the victim of a bully, a child will avoid coming out and telling their parents. Keeping your eyes peeled for warning signs associated with bullying is important. If you start to notice that your child has a number of unexplained injuries or that a lot of personal items are being destroyed, you may be dealing with a bullying situation. Other signs like loss of appetite or avoiding social situations are also warning signs that a child may be being bullied. Keeping an open dialogue with a child regarding this subject matter can be very helpful when trying to find out about and fix a bullying situation. You want to make sure they know you are an ally and a confidant and are there to help not hurt the situation.
Remaining Calm is Important
Some parents get very mad and worked up when they figure out their child is being bullied. While this anger is understandable, it can make a bad situation a lot worse. If a child sees their parent getting angry over a bullying situation, they are far less likely to talk to them about further issues. Staying calm and collected is essential when attempting to help your child with this type of problem. Speaking with the child about what they think needs to be done is important. Once you have talked this situation through, you can speak with professionals at your child’s school about the issues they are having. Don’t go to the professionals before you have a dialogue with the child and understand how the child wants the situation to be handled. Going over his or her head could ultimately ruin the child’s trust and make the situation worse.
Seek Out Some Professional Help
Being bullied can traumatize a child and make them have feelings of inadequacy. Seeking out help from a mental health professional can allow you to put your child back on the right track. Talking with professionals in this field will allow a child to express how they feel and get to the root cause of why they have been so affected by a bully. Providing a child with these coping skills can help them throughout their life and can minimize the problems bullying can lead to in adults. It is better to nip any sort of issue in the bud.
Why Addressing Bullying is so Important
There are a number of people who say that bullying is a natural part of life. These people fail to realize just how many pressures and stresses today’s kids have to deal with. If bullying is allowed to persist, a child will be at a much higher risk of developing substance abuse problems later in life. Children who aren’t given the mental healthcare they need following a bullying situation may use drugs or alcohol to cope with the trauma that bullying has caused. Rather than ignoring this situation, parents need to act as soon as signs of bullying are noticed.
Common Types of Bullying
If you are a newcomer to the world of bullying, you may be a bit confused as to the different types of bullies out there. Here are just some of the most common types of bullying out there.
- Physical Bullying- The most common type of bullying out there deals with physical contact. If another student is hitting your child or making physical contact to instill fear, then you have to act quickly. These physical bullying incidents can lead to a variety of serious injuries and will usually get progressively worse as time goes by.
- Verbal Bullying- Some in the mental health field say that verbal bullying has more of a negative impact than physical bullying does. Often times, bullies will point out something they know another person is self-conscious about and will use it to taunt them. This can be anything from a person’s weight to physical apperance. A child who is verbally bullied will generally have low self-esteem and will be at a higher risk of developing substance abuse problems as well as depression, anorexia, and severe anxiety later in life.
- Social/Cyber Bullying- Attacking a person’s reputation by making untrue statements about them is known as social bullying. This type of bullying has become far more common since the invention of social media. Between text messages, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, there are numerous opportunities for bullies to attack other children without having to face them in person. Bullies are able to hide behind a screen. Many times cyber bullying slides under the radar because it takes place solely online and is hard for others to see or notice. There have been a number of cases where kids have been bullied so badly online that is has led to suicide. Instead of letting things go this far, parents have to stay involved in every aspect of their child’s life so they can notice warning signs of abuse when they arise. It is important to set social media guidelines with your child and make sure that they are only using social media once they hit a certain age.
Drug Addiction and Bullying
Most of the people who view bullying as a harmless pastime or “just part of growing up” fail to realize just how prevalent drug addiction is with former bullies and the people they have bullied. The people who are bullied throughout their school years are far more likely to seek escape in the form of drugs and alcohol. If a person has never been given the tools to cope with the trauma caused by being bullied, they are far more likely to become addicted to drugs and alcohol because this is the only way they can stop the pain they fee. The results of bullying can ultimately be diagnosed as PTSD and are far more serious than people might think.
People who were bullies in school are also more likely to gravitate towards drugs and alcohol as they get older. Many bullies feel a sense of remorse as they age and use illegal substances to dull the pain they feel for the hurt they have caused. They also use drugs and alcohol as an escape to mask their own insecurities.
The team at Odyssey Training Center is passionate about helping victims of bullying. The counselors we train will go on to work with victims of bullying that have turned to drugs to numb their pain. Providing victims of bullying with professional counseling is a great way to give them the skills they need to get over the trauma this experience can cause.