Bullying is often called psychological harassment or violence. What makes it psychological is bullying's impact on the person's mental health and sense of well-being. The personalized, focused nature of the assault destabilizes and disassembles the target's identity, ego strength, and ability to rebound from the assaults. The longer the exposure to stressors like bullying, the more severe the psychological impact. When stress goes unabated, it compromises both a target's physical and mental health.
Psychological-Emotional Injuries
- Debilitating Anxiety, Panic Attacks (>80%)
- Clinical Depression: new to person or exacerbated condition previously controlled (39%)
- Post-traumatic Stress (PTSD) from deliberate human-inflicted abuse (30% of targeted women; 21% of men)
PTSD is the result of environments that traumatize, in those working conditions there is little predictability or control. This can create and intensive or overwhelming threat to a person which often results in the destruction of their sense of security.
Please know that above are injuries. Depression starts in bullied workers who never experienced it before. For the person who was previously depressed and successfully managing it, bullying exacerbates the condition. Bullying causes injuries, albeit psychological in nature and unseen, as surely one can be injured from physically unsafe conditions at work.
Bullying, Economic Crises and Suicide
In these times of massive unemployment and loss of health insurance, many people are stressed as much as bullied workers have always been. Without insurance, mental health help is often unaffordable. The raging economic crisis strains individuals, couples, and children. Known effects include increased domestic violence and disruption of normal childhood development.
Sometimes, the violence is turned inward. When the "way out" seems unattainable and no alternatives can be imagined, some people contemplate suicide. If you or someone you know are talking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The sad story of Marlene Braun's 2007 suicide should be a lesson to federal government managers about the ultimate impact of their abusive tactics. Also, a California university worker, Donna McDaniel, chose the same option in 2000, naming her bully boss as the reason. Nashville-based brothers, The Readings, wrote Wanda's Song about bullies' regret after suicide of their high school victim. One insightful line in the chorus ... Would you do the things you do if you were me and I were you? The Readings are committed to ending suicide by children bullied at school.
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