The Link Between Bullying and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Observation
One would think that issues such as bullying get a lot of attention in order to prevent it or to help children who have been bullied cope with a previous incident. Although it has been proven that children heal faster than adults, children healing faster than adults may not apply when it comes to situations that may affect their emotional and mental health (Connor 2013). As a result, it is essential for children to get help from experts, organizations and hotlines to cope with such a traumatic event to avoid further damage such as developing PTSD or even suicide.
As I began to gather information and locations for this project, I thought it would be simple because of the endless amount of organizations dedicated to bullying. There are large worldwide organizations, smaller local organizations, bullying experts, hotlines and so many anti-bullying laws and policies in New York. Because of the amount of resources we have in New York and so many bullying cases that involve children, I thought it would be easy to find someone to speak to. When bullying instances occur that involve children, they often end up on the news. After the news reporter finishes talking about the current event, in Univision news, channel 41, it is always followed by the number to a hotline or someone to contact if anyone else is dealing with a similar situation. However, getting in contact with these locations to help with this research project is not as easy as it sounds. Not many organizations are willing to contribute when it comes to a researcher’s point of view, making it more difficult to complete my own research.
After I finally put together my list of places that I wanted to contact, I decided to send them all an email. In the email I wrote who I was, where I was from(City College Student), and what my motives were. Since they didn’t answer my emails, I decided to call each organization. After being turned down by two, and having the rest not pick up, I left voicemails with my contact information in order for them to have somewhere to reach me at as soon as they became available. Days went by and still no call back so I realized that I had to get creative.
I thought maybe the way I was reaching out to these locations was the problem, so I took another route. Instead of reaching out as a student needing help with a project, I reached out to them as a bullying victim. I found new locations, emailed them first and then called them. I was expecting better results this time because these organizations are dedicated to helping victims in need of counseling, but I was wrong. This time I couldn’t even get a reply at all, email nor phone call. I realized that bullying doesn’t get as much attention as it should, it isn’t taken as serious by teachers, organizations, hotlines and bullying experts who turn a blind eye when there is a crisis within children, which is the opposite as how news reporters make it seem since they always state that there will aways be someone to help.
I reached out to many organizations and experts as a victim, left emails and voicemails and got no reply. Not getting any answers shows that all these bullying prevention locations are not as reliable as they should be, their jobs aren’t being done correctly because their websites state that the hotlines provide a 24 hour service and that if you contact the organizations via email, they will get back to you within a few days, yet a month has passed and I have yet to get a call back or an emailed response. I believe these large organizations are over promoted because many people know who they are, but most individuals don’t know that the work isn’t being done at all. If I was a child in need of help and on the brink of suicide, the organizations may have been able to help, but because I didn’t get an answer I may have negatively taken matters into my own hands. It isn’t comprehendible that the one thing these hotlines are put in place for is the one thing that doesn’t work. For example, hotlines are made to help children when they need someone to reach out to when they are getting bullied, yet when I called for help, there was no answer. Any child in need could have called because of a situation they faced, and they probably didn’t even receive an answer. They may be out somewhere in the world seeking help, yet not much attention has been placed on bullying issues.
Since these two attempts didn’t work, I decided to try and find someone within the CUNY school system or the NYCDOE. After speaking to plenty of counselors within the CUNY system, I was told that they didn’t have anyone that I could speak to because they lacked having someone specific to my topic that could’ve given me the proper answers. Instead, the CUNY counselors referred me to different centers and departments within City College, and yet still no reply! The most information I got was from the Health and Wellness Center, and it was just referrals to five larger institutions who may be able to help. After calling each center to ask for help with a bullying research project, I was turned down once again and I was feeling highly discouraged, but I came to another realization.
If research were to be conducted to find out whether or not PTSD is a side effect of bullying, I wonder how would we get any answers if none of the experts want to speak up or put in their intake and findings. It is saddening to know that the people who should be working on bullying matters for a better tomorrow, to prevent mental health issues like PTSD aren’t working as hard as they should. Hotlines and organizations put in place to help children in need aren’t addressing victims, so I wonder what exactly is the point in having them in place. Maybe the hotlines are made because it is required by schools and anti-bullying organizations so that the public cannot complain about the hotlines not existing, although most of them do not work. Bullying is a serious issue that can become traumatic for individuals, and yet it isn’t taken serious. The help that is set forth for children and young adults isn’t being executed the right way. More attention needs to be put on bullying, anti-bullying policies need to be reinforced and these bullying experts need to become more open with victims as well as starting to conduct more research to help those who are now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of a bullying incident. It shouldn’t take a casualty resulting from bullying so that hotlines begin to work. I believe that since schools already have anti-bullying policies, the policies should be reinforced by having an authoritarian figure contacting the hotlines and anti-bullying organizations to make sure they are all working and the employees are actually getting their jobs done.
Works Cited
Connor, Steve. “Fountain of Youth? Scientists Discover Why Wounds Heal Quicker for Young People.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 7 Nov. 2013, www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fountain-of-youth-scientists-discover-why-wounds-heal-quicker-for-young-people-8927387.html.
