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Writer's pictureClara Wajngurt

Bullying is Trauma

Updated: Feb 6, 2019


Bullying is Trauma

Bullying is a traumatic experience. Reactions to trauma generally include grief reactions like


'I wish I would have.....'
or
'It was my fault...'

and a sense of powerlessness, fear or terror. In general, trauma is any experience that leaves a person feeling hopeless, helpless, fearing for their life/survival or fearing for their safety.


This experience can be real or perceived (National Institute of Trauma and Loss of Children).


When a person is traumatized, the person becomes frozen in an activated state of arousal-meaning a particular event puts the person into a state of fear, into a state of alert and into  survival mode. As a result, stress hormones are released when exposed to a particular event-like in bullying, which is unwarranted and repetitive.The stress hormones include cortisol, adrenaline, etc. The surge in stress hormones creates changes in the person's brain, which causes changes in a person's cognitive, behavioral and emotional functions. Language, reasoning skills, learning, an attitude of 'I can't believe this is happening to me' has impacted the person who is  bullied.


As a result, there occurs in the affected person, poor immune function, hypertension, low 

self-esteem, depression and anxiety. We need to establish safe and supportive work environments where there is encouragement of trust, self-awareness, self-management and responsible decision-making skills.

 

If you would like more information on workplace bullying or our services visit: www.bullyingpreventionconsulting.com or write to me at bullyingpreventionconsulting@gmail.com.


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