It is almost an absolute certainty that every individual, at some point in his or her life, has been the victim of bullying. Bullying can manifest in any number of ways and in any number of environments and is not strictly limited to the clichéd stereotype of a defenseless school student and a group of bigger, meaner perpetrators. Bullying can take place in education institutions all the way up to university level, it can take place in the work environment and it can even take place in the seeming comfort of your own home. Worryingly, in what is becoming a more publicized and prominent situation, sometimes these periods of bullying completely overwhelm the victim in such a serious way that the only option they feel is logical is to take their own lives to make the bullying stop.
What is important here is to make people aware of just how much the prolonged process of bullying can affect individuals. Bullying is a dangerous situation that more often than not will begin in a seemingly harmless fashion, whether it be a quick joke told at the expense of a student or co worker or a passing reference to, for example, a fashion choice or music preference.
Though these small remarks may have absolutely no effect on the bully, the victim will begin to internalize all of the negative feelings that the unwanted attention evokes. Thus begins a chain of bullying behavior, with the bully beginning to increase the veracity and regularity of his or her attacks to try and get a reaction out of their target. In actuality, what most commonly follows is a complete retreat from the victim in to themselves, attempting to shut off the personal attacks whilst, detrimentally, as the same time shutting off the potential support of friends and family to help guide them through a desperate situation.
As this internalization of pain continues, with nobody to turn to, it is then not difficult to imagine that a victim of bullying may be blinded in to believing that the only way to put an end to the treatment that they have been receiving is to put an end to their lives. Though to many of us this conclusion appears drastic and unwarranted, to a person who wants nothing more than to be rid of their current quality of life, suicide may seem to be the option over which they have the most control.
In conclusion, it is a sad truth of our society that bullying, in its various forms, can lead to suicide. The way to begin to try and shrink this statistic is in a combination of vigilance on behalf of co workers, teachers, family and friends, and the introduction of much more accessible and user friendly support systems. What might start out as playful jibing, if not monitored, can turn in to a situation that causes somebody a huge amount of pain, and society must work hard and together to try to eradicate this unfortunate occurrence.
