What are the short and long term effects of bullying?
By Antoine G Larosiliere
I was reflecting on all the bullying I was around growing up, and now that I’m a parent and educator, I was curious to know what are the short and long term effects of bullying?
With the rise of school shootings and youth suicides, many parents and educators are concerned and others are broken hearted. To have a better understanding of what we’re facing, we must ask the question “what are the short and long term effects of bullying?” Wouldn’t that be something you wish you knew, before you sent your kids to school, or before you signed your child up to play on that team? Well, look no further. What are the short and long term effects of bullying?
Bullying has short-term emotional effects that usually exhibit within one year or less that includes feelings of anxiety, shame, depression, anger, bitterness, and revenge. Bullying also has long-term emotional effects that become patterns of thought and behavior lasting years and sometimes decades, such as learned helplessness, low self confidence, chronic depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders. The short-term physical effects include stomachaches, headaches, muscle aches, other physical complaints with no specific physical cause. This includes bedwetting, sleep disturbances and changes in eating habits. The short-term effects morph into long-term effects, where physical ailments become self degrading habits. These habits include, smoking, substance abuse, eating disorders, and other self destructive behaviors.
“I remember being called ugly by my mother at a very young age, and I would immediately become self conscious about how I look when I’m out in public.”
Short-term emotional effects
Short-term emotional effects refers to the qualities or emotional traits someone exhibits within one year or less. I remember being called ugly by my mother at a very young age, and I would immediately become self conscious about how I look when I’m out in public. If I didn’t have a haircut, I remember feeling unattractive and would refuse to go to the mall. Other short-term emotional effects include…
- Feelings of shame
- Feelings of anxiety
- Low self-esteem
- Symptoms of depression
- Victims often feeling lonely and abandoned
- Damage to their self-concepts and their self identities
- Self-loathing
- Feelings of anger and/or bitterness
- Believing you’re weak, pathetic, and a loser
- Having revenge fantasies
- Having rage feelings
Long-term emotional effects
Long-term emotional effects are those same qualities and emotional traits that become patterns of thought and behavior lasting years and sometimes decades. Using my previous example, when I became an adult those self conscious feelings from my youth manifested into full blown routines of self doubt and emotional inadequacies. Other long-term emotional effects include…
- Seeing yourself as undesirable, and/or an ineffective individual
- Learned helplessness
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Low self confidence
- Emotionally avoidant
- Chronic depression
- Increased risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide plans, and suicide attempts
- Anxiety disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
Short-term physical effects
Short-term physical effects of bullying can’t be understated. When my oldest son was getting bullied, every morning he would complain about pains before school. Anxiety and trauma of the mind has great effects on the body, and within a year victims of bullying might show some of the following effects…
- Stomachaches, headaches, muscle aches, other physical complaints with no specific physical cause.
- Sleep disturbance- difficulties falling asleep, and staying asleep
–When victims are able to sleep, they might experience nightmares (These nightmares may or may not involve the bully) - Bedwetting
- Changes in eating habits
- Higher risk of illnesses
“My close friend who was bullied by his father, later connected his recent struggles with drug addiction to his need to escape the memories of physical torment at the hands of his father.”
Long-term physical effects
As the short-term effects morph into long-term effects, these physical ailments become habits of self degradation. My close friend who was bullied by his father, later connected his recent struggles with drug addiction to his need to escape the memories of physical torment at the hands of his father. Long-term physical effects may include the following..
- Heavy smoking
- Poor general health
- Self-destructive behavior, including self-harm
- Substance abuse
- Eating disorders after or while being bullied
- Bullies missing school because of suspensions or other punishment
Short-term academic effects
Short-term academic effects that resulted from bullying are usually immediately evident. According to a large study by a group of UCLA psychologists “students who were bullied the most perform far worse than their peers and tend to be quieter in class for the fear of being bullied. These pupils also end up disliking school and are more likely to skip lessons to avoid clashes with their bullies.” Short-term academic effects include…
- Poor school performance
- Frequent absenteeism– about 7% of American eighth-graders reporting staying home from school at least once a month to avoid being bullied.
- School avoidance
- Avoiding certain parts of the school, such as the restrooms and locker rooms.
Long-term academic effects
The long term academic effect of bullying results in more catastrophic outcomes. Some of these outcomes include…
- Dropping out of school
- Being restricted from clubs and/or activities
- Repeating the grade level
- Loss of scholarships
Short-term social effects
Short-term social effects of bullying are behaviors that immediately begin to remove the individual from any social interactions. The hope is to alleviate potential run-ins with their aggressor. Some of these short-term social effects include…
- Antisocial behavior
- Social isolation
- Avoidance of social situations
- Overly sensitive and thinned-skinned
Long-term social effects
Long-term social effects of bullying refers to behaviors that don’t allow the individual to have relationships without dysfunction. It is a pattern of unhealthy tactics due to their unresolved trauma of being bullied. Some of these effects include…
- Difficulty establishing reciprocal friendships
- Struggles with maintaining loving and warm intimate relationships
- Hard time trusting people
- Trouble making and keeping friends as adults
- Risk of spousal or child abuse
- Tendency to be a loner
- Panic attacks and agoraphobia
- Likely to live without a spouse
- A Bully’s behavior without intervention is likely to continue into adulthood
- Bullies have little empathy and few scruples about manipulating others for their own gain.
- Bullies show greater risk of becoming a criminal
Long-term employment effects
Long-term employment effects are the consequences to being bullied that affects our ability to be gainfully employed and have healthy working relationships. Some of these effects include…
- Poor financial management
- Very little motivation to be employed
- Less likely to be educated or employed
- Difficult to keep a stable job
- One research project showed that people who were bullied earned less at age 50 than their non-bullied counterparts.
- Substance abuse can lead to a termination of employment
Bullying is a serious issue with even more serious short and long-term consequences that affect the global community. If you, your child, or someone you care about are exhibiting any of these signs, please encourage them to seek professional help. Healing from trauma is a long process that needs to be handled with love and precision. I hope this has been helpful.
The Bully Experience "Daniel's Story"
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