I recently made a presentation at the Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. The topic of my presentation was “Long Lasting Psychological Impact of Bullying”. The attendees included students and professors from at least two psychology classes as well as several students and staff members from other liberal arts programs. The 75 minutes presentation was followed by about 45 minutes of interesting and thought-provoking discussions.
Speaking to a group of psychology students and staff members can be a very interesting experience. Most of them clearly understand the devastating nature of obsessive compulsive disorder. And most of them are also very well aware that the disease can be triggered by some traumatic life event. They find it very interesting to learn how characteristics of prolonged bullying can influence the way the disease can manifest its impact on the victim.
They also understand the similarities between “the bully” and “OCD”. The key similarity is that they both thrive by controlling the victim. That’s why at times OCD is also known as the “internal bully”.