Cassandra's Think Tank

Effects of Bullying 

Kids who are bullied can experience negative physical, school, and mental health issues. Kids who are bullied are more likely to experience:

• Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.
• Health complaints
• Decreased academic achievement—GPA and standardized test scores—and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.

A very small number of bullied children might retaliate through extremely violent measures. In 12 of 15 school shooting cases in the 1990s, the shooters had a history of being bullied.

Warning signs



 Your child or teen might need help if he or she:

• Often feels anxious or worried
• Has very frequent tantrums or is intensely irritable much of the time
• Has frequent stomachaches or headaches with no physical explanation
• Is in constant motion, can’t sit quietly for any length of time
• Has trouble sleeping, including frequent nightmares
• Loses interest in things he or she used to enjoy
• Avoids spending time with friends
• Has trouble doing well in school, or grades decline
• Fears gaining weight; exercises, diets obsessively
• Has low or no energy
• Has spells of intense, inexhaustible activity
• Harms herself/himself, such as cutting or burning her/his skin
• Engages in risky, destructive behavior
• Harms self or others
• Smokes, drinks, or uses drugs
• Has thoughts of suicide
• Thinks his or her mind is controlled or out of control, hears voices.



If  your child is thinking about harming

 get help immediately. You can call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1.800.273.TALK (8255).

If you know someone is feeling hopeless, helpless, thinking of suicide.

Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline online or at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).



The toll-free call goes to the nearest crisis center in the national network. These centers provide 24-hour crisis counseling and mental health referrals.

Anxiety and depression occur in both genders, but by the teenage years, girls are much more at risk than boys.

Before puberty, the prevalence of mood disorders is about the same in boys and girls—3 to 5 percent.

But by mid-adolescence girls are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mood disorder as boys, with the prevalence at adult levels, 14 to 20 percent.