A major point of emphasis in my book “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” is the fact most victims of bullying are likely to have to deal with mental health issues. In some cases the victims might be lucky and be able to avoid serious issues, but in many cases there can be long lasting impact. But in any case, no child should ever have to go through this.
Children deserve a positive stress-free environment when they go to school. But when they face bullying at school on a regular and consistent basis, the school becomes an extremely stressful environment. And when anyone has to deal with continuous stress on a daily basis, it is no wonder that they develop mental health issues.
That is why I have always felt that the school staff has a significant responsibility in this regard. They must take the responsibility to make sure that no child feels stressed or unsafe while at school. Just leaving it to the kids to manage their own stress of being bullied is not at all appropriate, and it typically leads to mental health issues sooner or later.
Children do not have the skills yet to be able to handle unwanted aggressive behavior and mistreatment from others. Just managing an average school day is the work they need to get used to, not trying to figure out how to stay away from unwanted aggressive mistreatment from others.
I know that many schools are taking this seriously and are putting plans and actions in place to help children in managing difficult situations like this. I am hopeful that all schools will put a very high priority on this responsibility to make sure all children find schools to be a stress-free environment.