In my book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” one of the key messages is about the fact that many victims of childhood bullying often ends up having to deal with various forms of anxiety disorders later in life. And these mental health disorders can significantly impact the lives of victims going forward.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of these anxiety disorders that many victims of bullying (like myself) have to deal with. It is a fairly common occurrence among victims of childhood bullying because OCD can control a victim just like a bully does. That is why OCD is sometimes known as the “enemy within” or an “internal bully”. Instead of a typical bully trying to control a victim from outside, OCD tries to control the victim from within. Impact can be significant but fortunately a good therapist, along with some medication, can help a person recover over time.
Many people do not seem to understand what individuals with OCD have to go through. At times some people may think that the person is being lazy and just doesn’t want to do what he or she needs to do. But they simply do not understand what a person with OCD has to deal with. It’s an extremely debilitating disease that can have an enormous negative impact on a person’s life.
It is unfortunate that in these cases even after the external bullying stops, the victims continue to feel tormented by the internal bully. It seems like OCD takes over from where the external bully dropped off. That is exactly what happened in my case. And as I go around the country speaking about this, I have come across many individuals who have had very similar experiences. The real solution is to eradicate bullying from schools.