In the past month, The Gator’s Eye has covered what bullying is, and how to cope with a bully. This week, we will be looking into what the effects of bullying are, and how you can become aware of them.

Bullying is an incredibly serious threat to children, teens, and even adults. It can cause short and long term effects that negatively impact not only the victim, but the bully too. According to Psycom, some effects for the victim can include anxiety, depression, and poor school performance. Emmy Elkoumy, a Sophomore at Green Level replies similarly, saying “Bullying can cause depression and quickly bring down self-esteem. People can take what other people think about them very personally. Bullying can even lead to suicide.” Mr. McAuliffe, Green Level High School Counselor, expands on this, explaining that “Effects of bullying can lead to students feeling unsafe at school and feeling like school isn’t a place where they can be themselves.”

At the same time, there can also be effects on the bully. And the effects are strikingly similar–some include anxiety, mental health outcomes, and poor school performance. Although it’s hard to sympathize with the bully, it’s important to remember that bullying is often a response to some kind of trauma the bully has experienced. Bullies still get negatively impacted even if they are the ones causing the problem. 

The counselors and teachers are here to help you in these types of situations. Mr. McAuliffe says that, “When students hear things at Green Level, we want them to bring it to the counselors. We don’t want their silence to hurt the victim. There’s a fear of bringing things up to adults about bullying, but at Green Level we make sure everything stays confidential and we want to make sure that this is a welcoming school environment for all students.”

So what should we do to become more aware of the people around us? Mr. McAuliffe says, “One of the biggest ways is to have empathy towards our classmates and to think about how our words and social exclusion makes people feel.” 

What can you do if you see someone getting bullied? As a bystander, there are many things you can do to make a situation of bullying become less intense and hurtful. If we see someone that’s being bullied, we need to do what’s right and stand up for them no matter who they are. According to Laura Norman, a Sophomore at Green Level, “Let other people know they’re not alone. If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them.”

Lastly, once we are aware of the effects and people around us, what is there to do? “Bullying is the biggest thing that will tear down a community, so we want to make sure that we create a community where we build each other up and depower the bully.” Mr. McAuliffe says. We need to make sure that as a community at Green Level, we work together to make sure that this school is inclusive and safe for every student here. We want to create a school environment where bullying is not tolerated and everyone feels safe and at home. 

Bullying poses a deliberate and severe threat to all people no matter if you are the victim or the bully. We are a big Gator family and we should all look out for and support each other in every way possible.