When I was in Middle School, I was one of the shy and overweight girls who were picked on constantly. Every day felt like a battlefield, with people throwing crumpled up papers at me, but this form of bullying was nothing compared to everything else done to me. For example, girls would tease me because of my dark skin, and they would tell me that I was not good enough for a boyfriend. Likewise, people would make fun of me by calling me a whale or Miss Piggy, making me feel atrocious about myself. I could not look in the mirror because I thought I was disgusting. I felt like I was made imperfectly compared to the other girls in my school, like I was cursed, and that “God” gave up on my looks while I was still in my mother’s womb. Because of being bullied, I developed depression, low self-esteem, and social phobia. As a consequence of constantly being bullied in Middle School and then High School, I am still depressed today. People who were never victims of bullying do not understand how this can be traumatizing for a person years later. For me, past childhood trauma still affects my everyday life. It is hard for me to …show more content…
According, to the origins of social phobia by Hudson Jl, and Rapee Rm. ”There is, however, research derived from related areas such as shyness, social anxiety, self-consciousness, peer neglect, and social withdrawal that contributes to a richer understanding of the etiology of social fears” (Hudson). Their research is accurate because I have low self-esteem and I suffer with social anxiety due to being neglected throughout my life. Having social phobia has prevented me from getting a job, and talking to people on the daily basis. I do not enjoy talking to people I am not familiar with, especially when I am in school. I have a hard time giving presentations because of my anxiety. As a result, I would fail a class that I would have to present in because of my
In order to understand what social anxiety is a definition is needed. One way social anxiety or social phobia can be defined is “shyness taken to the extreme” (Myers and Dewall, 2014, p. 514). A more clinical definition that is found on Socialanxietyinstitute.org is “social anxiety is the fear of interaction with other people that brings on self-consciousness, feelings of being negatively judged and evaluated, and as a result, leads to avoidance” (Richards,
Annotated Bibliography Sarah Hamlin Topic: Bullying is misrepresented in the media, and its definition is unclear. The study investigates how children view bullying and how they differentiate bullying from teasing. It was understood that students often mistake teasing for bullying and mislabel it. They reported that bullying is physical, mental, or emotional demoralization that happens repeatedly and teasing is verbal or physical aggression that is not necessarily repetitive.
All of us at one point in our life have had a fear of something, whether it’s public speaking, trying something new for the first time, or even presenting just like we're all going to be doing. I'm sure most of us will be nervous and we try our best to get rid of that feeling. Some people have Social anxiety which is known as social phobia. It is the fear of social interaction with other people and of being judged and looked down upon. It can also be a fear of embarrassment. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, self-consciousness, and depression. Social anxiety is an issue that affects many individuals as it should be taken more seriously and should not be considered as a weakness. Moreover, individuals with social anxiety should not be judged
The impact of bullying on an indivdual can be terrifying. One of the impacts can be a wide range of emotions that one goes through while being bullied. According to, ¨Stopbullying.gov¨ it states that when you are bullied, you have a lot of emotions. Some of these emotions are depression, anger and hopelessness. Both depression and anger can impact your daily life. As mentioned in the same article,
From the first day I walked in I was a target. I was small, skinny, had big glasses and my two front teeth looked like Bugs Bunny teeth. To make things even more worse I stuttered badly. The kids would tease me calling me ugly and skinny and always pushed me off the slide during recess. I was confused as to why I was being treated this way and I tried my hardest to fit in. I followed behind everything that everyone did, I played the games that everyone else found fun to play and I laughed when everyone laughed even when I didn't think what they were laughing at was funny. I just wanted to fit in. One particular bully I remember well was a girl named Kahdijah. She was the main reason I hated going to school everyday, because of her mean words , hateful stares and the times when she would hit me. I constantly let her walk over me because I was afraid to stand up for myself. I didn't know what to say or how to say it and I was scared to hit her back because she might hit me even harder. On top of that my teacher wasn't any help. She would hear the teasing and just tell the class to quiet down instead of coming to my defense. Well that one day in class is where I had enough of the
Even though people think that bullying is not a big deal , bullying should be stopped because bullying is illegal .
This story is depressing and personal, when I was young I was bullied a lot, being told many times “it’s because they like you” so I thought nothing of it until my grade 5 year where things got worse. Normally it would be the usual hair pulling, name calling stuff; but in grade 5 I became a punching bag and teachers never helped, they seemed to encourage them almost; it left me very tired, mentally, physically, emotionally and sometimes spiritually, I was a very happy child despite what was happening, but there were days where I wasn’t the bubbly girl I was. Instead what stood in her place was someone who was afraid of the world and left herself open to attacks. By the time Christmas break came around I moved to a new school hoping it would
My class has been talking about bullying and its effects on students and schools all around the world! My teacher handed out articles on bullying and informed us to get the awareness out. I read the articles and starting thinking on ways that we can change this horrible problem. Bullying can be changed but we have to spread awareness!
School should be a place where children are able to excel and grow. The environment should be encouraging, empowering, and safe. Education systems and procedures are constantly a societal issue. A main issue that continually raids our schools is bullying. Every community addresses their bully issue differently and there are many theories as well as curriculums to help build processes for anti-bullying. With research, theories, and diverse reasons for bullying it can be a large commitment and process when deciding how to battle bullying within your school. In an effort to fully understand my school and students needs as it relates to bullying learning about how bullying is defined, theories associated with bully programs,
All my life I have been plagued with the unfortunate condition of social anxiety. I have seemed to have it for the majority of my life. Since elementary school, I have always been the shy, quiet kid in class who does her work and keeps to herself. It was always hard for me having to speak in front of the class or even to another person whom I didn’t know well. Every new conversation that I was engaged in gave me copious amounts of anxiety. I would stutter, blush, and when the whole ordeal was done I was embarrassed looking back on how I had acted. It would haunt me for days afterward thinking to myself, “you shouldn’t have laughed so loud” or “why did you say that? They probably think you are so weird now.” However, as I have grown up and matured
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also referred to as social phobia, is defined as the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social and performance situations. For most individuals, it has been known to wreak havoc within the lives of those who suffer from it (Anxiety and Depression Association of America [ADAA], 2017). There are some that suffer from symptoms so extreme, that SAD interferes with and disrupts their everyday life (ADAA, 2017). Those who have been diagnosed with this disorder may have few to no social or romantic relationships, thus making them feel powerless, alone, and in some instances, ashamed. On average, these symptoms emerge at thirteen years old and about 15 million adults suffer from social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety is long-standing and debilitating and can affect a person’s ability to function during work or school, even causing difficulty with building relationships with people outside of their family. People with social anxiety have trouble meeting or talking to new people. In some cases the person can feel powerless to overcome their fears despite knowing that their fears are irrational or unreasonable.
Most bullies victimize students in the same class or year, although 30 percent of victims report that the bully was older, and approximately ten percent report that the bully was younger. It is unknown the extent to which physical, mental or speech difficulties, eyeglasses, skin color, language, height, weight, hygiene, posture, and dress play a role in victim selection. One major study found the only external characteristics...to be associated with victimization were that victims tended to be smaller and weaker than their peers. One study found that nonassertive youth who were socially incompetent had an increased likelihood of victimization. Having friends, especially ones who will help protect against bullying, appears to reduce the chances of victimization. Victims of bullying suffer consequences beyond embarrassment. Some victims experience psychological and/or physical distress, are frequently absent and cannot concentrate on schoolwork. Research generally shows that victims have low self-esteem, and their victimization can lead to depression that can last for years after the victimization. Boys and girls who were bullied at least once a week experienced poorer health, more frequently contemplated suicide, and suffered from depression, social dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia. Sociologist Robert Crosnoe in his book “Fitting In, Standing Out” provides new and disturbing evidence that socially marginalized youth, including victims of bullying, are less likely to go to college, which can have major implications for their adult lives. He found that feelings of not fitting in led to increased depression, marijuana use and truancy over time, which were associated with lower academic progress by the end of high school. That, in turn, lowered students’ odds of going to college. In an effort to address the widespread social ill that stems from of
The topic of bullying is an issue that has always been close to my heart. When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a Craniopharyngioma on my pituitary gland. As a result of the tumor and surgery, I gained excess weight. I was also informed I would have to take steroids and hormone replacements for the rest of my life, which also contributed to the weight gain. I returned to school about 4 or 5 months after surgery. I returned back to school bald and overweight, stimulated by the giant mass in my head. Under the circumstances, all of my friends vanished, I was called names no one should be called or labeled, and was neglected by my whole grade. I was treated like this just because I appeared different. I was looked upon like I was invisible. (This is an example of verbal and relation abuse, a type of bullying where the victim undergoes name calling and ignorance.) I endured this type of bullying until about eighth grade. Ninth grade through about tenth grade I experienced mainly the last form of bullying listed, relation/ social abuse. These last few years of high school, the bullying turned into talking and laughing behind my back. This type of bullying was unfavorable to me because I didn’t know who was saying what. Given my experience with bullying, I take this topic very seriously. Whether victims are battling rumors or discrimination, kids are getting bullied all the time at schools
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. (2013). Social Influences on Cyberbullying Behaviors Among Middle and High School Students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 711-722.