There can be tragic emotional consequences for victims of stalkers. In recent studies, nearly 50% of respondents revealed that they had thought about committing suicide as a result of bullying. It is devastating to report that this group turns thoughts into actions at a much higher rate than those who have not been intimidated. Bullying victims are also much more likely to suffer from depression.
One devastating effect of bullying is the pattern it creates in the lives of bullying victims that can last a lifetime. Nearly 40% of people bullied at school continue to be bullied later in adult life at work, higher education, and also in social circles.
In our young and developing children, self-esteem is crucial. Bullying takes away their self-esteem like nothing else, and victims of bullies always report that they feel worse about themselves after being bullied. The normal child feels low self-esteem at a rate of around 1%, while bullied children report feelings of low self-esteem as high as 40%.
Children, adolescents, and even adults who have been bullied have much higher absenteeism rates than those who have not. The defense mechanism of getting out of the situation is very common. Unfortunately, this defense is just a band-aid on the problem and ultimately prevents them from dealing with the issue, making new friends, and also takes them out of circles and networks where support and help may very well be available.
Although we are talking about friends, victims of bullying find it difficult to keep the ones they have, let alone make new ones. This is partly due to the pack mentality and is most often seen in adolescence. Standing up for people against a bully or bullies can really make you stand out and isolate you from the rest of the group and this is one of the things teens fear the most. Peer pressure also plays a role and someone the victim normally counts as a friend may appear to be joining the bullies if they are not supportive. The betrayal displayed by your friends’ reluctance to step in and help you can often feel even worse than bullying!
As bullying victims withdraw from the situation, they often do not learn coping strategies that they will use later in life. As a result, their relationships are often bad and short-lived, bullying patterns continue well into adult life, and sometimes the victim may become the bully, resorting to aggression and violence to resolve issues.
The results of bullying and the impacts on the victim can range from mild annoyance at the very least and tragically, suicide and sometimes even murder-suicide in the worst case. It’s a devastating result by any measure and something we all need to take more seriously.