2023-11-02 22:00:19
Bullying is a social and mental health problem that affects children and adolescents around the world and the role of doctors is very important in combating it. Its impact originates in schools but expands outside of them, and its consequences can last throughout life.
To explore bullying from a medical perspective, the psychiatrist Ana Isabel Sanz created a guide to know which tools are essential when identifying cases in young patients.
3 out of 10 children suffer some type of bullying at school
Often, students who are experiencing bullying keep it silent. It is common, according to Dr. Sanz’s experience, for victims to feel ashamed and with little confidence in the help they can receive. Given this concealment, a comprehensive and attentive examination by a health professional can be essential to unmask what may be happening.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 30% of children worldwide report having been victims of bullying at some point in their lives. This involves a wide number of behaviors, such as physical attacks, mockery and insults, hurtful comments that damage the image of the victim, or exclusion and isolation from collective activities.
There is a wide range of manifestations of psychological distress in students who suffer bullying.
The psychiatrist Ana Isabel Sanz – who attends and expertly evaluates cases of dysfunctions in
school coexistence – highlights the importance of being alert to signs that may indicate that a patient is experiencing bullying. Some of the signs doctors should watch for include:
Physical symptoms such as headaches or digestive discomfort that are aggravated by school attendance; sustained fatigue; bad habits and carelessness in eating; sleep disturbances, nightmares; frequent physical injuries without clear explanation; carelessness in personal appearance; repeated loss of personal belongings; sudden tendency to isolation, loss of friends and social contacts; loss of self-confidence; self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, self-inflicted injuries, or even verbalizing intentions to die.
The emotional well-being of students who suffer bullying is severely affected by alterations that range from anxiety to major or severe depression, associated with suicidal ideas. These extremes “frequently appear among schoolchildren who are or have been victims of bullying by certain classmates,” says Dr. Sanz, warning that the risk of some variant of depression appearing lasts for long periods of time once the abuse has stopped. even in adulthood.
Without reaching the extreme of severity that depression and suicide imply, the range of manifestations of psychological discomfort in students who are the target of bullying is wide and, sometimes so subtle that it can go unnoticed if teachers or parents are not sufficiently attentive. Other examples that can be observed are: feelings of loneliness, manifestations of tension, hypervigilance, anxiety, multiple fears, decreased motivation, feelings and verbalizations of undervaluation, decreased self-esteem, thoughts and experiences of guilt and self-hatred.
The doctor, who coordinates and provides assistance in the Ipsias Psychiatric Institute also emphasizes that “it is not worth forgetting the high frequency with which young victims of bullying develop post-traumatic stress disorder, an alteration in which signs of sustained anxious hyperactivation are mixed, repeated recall of the events that lead to extreme suffering mixed with behaviors “avoidance of any signal that reminds us of the trauma experienced, as well as a dulling of emotional reactions and cognitive processes.”
Tools for medical intervention in cases of bullying
When a doctor suspects that a patient is being bullied, it is essential to act with empathy and care. Psychiatrist Ana Isabel Sanz suggests some tools and strategies to address this situation:
Promote early detection and effective intervention. To do this, clinicians can use screening questions during well exams and patient visits to assess the nature of the child or adolescent’s interactions with peers and potential exposure to bullying. Consider bullying as a possible explanation for the sudden appearance of school phobias, attention problems, or psychosomatic conditions. Conduct regular monitoring and intervene quickly if risk factors are evident for children who bully and those who are victims of bullying, paying special attention to populations who are most at risk. Contribute to the training and continuous education of health personnel, teachers and students on bullying prevention strategies through programmed actions in health training centers, in schools and in various interventions at meetings, conferences and awareness plans. community. Encourage the implementation of anti-bullying policies and practices in professional organizations, local schools, and community groups to dispel misunderstandings and misdirections in bullying prevention strategies. For example, the doctor explains about this last point, “in the face of excessively punitive measures, it is recommended to promote graduated sanctions for violations of the rules, which are appropriate for the level of development of the minor and the nature and severity of bullying.” ”. Partner with schools to implement comprehensive bullying prevention programs. Help evaluate the impact of local interventions and advocate for quality research at the national level.
Furthermore, in the environment and in the family there are ways to help victims of bullying recover. As solutions if someone close has suffered or is suffering bullying, the doctor emphasizes that we do not fall into the clichés about harassment being part of normal interaction of minors or that living these traumatic experiences strengthens one’s character. “That is not true and the correct thing to do is to adopt a dialogic and constructive stance once it has been established that harassment exists, avoiding both silence about it and overprotective attitudes.”
It can also be very useful to participate in support groups in which victimized minors interact with peers who have been observers or aggressors, practicing role-playing and role-playing techniques.
In recovery, in addition to medical help, it is important to provide Strategies to identify, name, and vent emotions of anger, shame, or self-blame. To achieve this, adds Dr. Sanz, “it can be useful to use meditation techniques that help connect – physically and not just mentally – with the emotional reactions that are experienced, learning to feel them without judging them, until they decrease in intensity. ”, thus the potential of these emotions to continue producing fear in the victims can gradually disappear.
Also read:
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Depression, responsible for 8 out of 10 suicides in Mexico
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