“I’ll Do Anything to Make It Stop”
“You are fat, stupid and ugly.” This is just one example of the taunting that some students endure from peers and classmates. These and other harmful statements are instances of bullying.
Bullying is a form of violence. It is negative, aggressive and unwanted behaviors intended to cause harm, hurt or humiliation to another student. It is anything that hurts another student, when things are repeatedly said or done to have power over that individual.
There are many types of bullying, including racial bullying, sexual bullying and cyber bullying. Bullying includes name calling, saying or writing derogatory comments, purposely excluding an individual from activities, spreading lies and rumors, ignoring, threatening, doing anything to make another person feel uncomfortable or scared, stealing or damaging belongings of others, kicking, hitting, slapping, and making someone do things they do not want to do.
Children handle being bullied in many different ways. Those who are bullied are subject to peer pressure. Sometimes they end up doing things they really do not want to do in order to “fit in”—hoping that the bullying will stop. Those who are bullied often feel pain, fear or hurt.
They lose self-confidence and feel lonely, scared and sad. They sometimes do not feel safe at school, at home or at play—and often have poor grades in school. They may suffer from depression, headaches, stomach aches and other health problems and they may also have thoughts of suicide. Some feel it necessary to fight or bring a gun or weapon to school to stop Continue reading “Relieving the Trauma of Bullying”