Bullying Affected My Mental Health

Mental health is something that is often overlooked, especially as a result of bullying. Lately, the fight against bullying has taken on more of its own spotlight. Despite that, however, when it happens to anyone, of any age, it still affects their mental health. That’s what I’m opting to write about for this reflective essay: how bullying affected my mental health. Unfortunately, I was bullied for a long time, to the point where I had to be taken out of public school and enrolled in cyber school.

The bullying in my own life, that affected my mental health personally, started when my father was diagnosed with cancer. Other kids in school were really rude about it, saying, “At least my dad doesn’t have cancer.” and other things of the like to rub it in my face, even though it wasn’t my fault. It made me feel like garbage, because at the tender age of ten, I barely understood what the words ‘terminal cancer’ meant. I genuinely thought he would get better. It didn’t even hit me that he was sick until he was gone. After the bullying started, it was just more on my plate. I didn’t understand how I was supposed to attend — let alone pass — classes and be a kid while

They don’t understand (or care), most times, the way that kind of treatment affects someone, and can for years to come. As a result of this bullying, my mental health is lacking. The negative emotions tend to take over and impair my judgement. When I have mental breakdowns, they hit hard. I take it out on myself, cutting my hair when I know I won’t like it and neglecting my hygiene for reasons unknown to myself other than because I just can’t bring myself to do things that make me happy. I hate that my mom and other people that care about me have to see me like that, because I know how badly it hurts them, but I can’t help it when the breakdowns are set into